The Differences Between Us
by xMorbidxAngelx
Summary: A girl struggling to deal with the changes in her life is befriended by a group who are her polar opposites. Follow her story as she tries to see past the differences between them and let friendship bloom.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** I know I shouldn't be starting a new story without finishing Far From Home, but I've drawn a bit of a blank of that one and the idea for this one has been kicking around for a while. I'm hoping that starting something new will get the creativity flowing again :)

Anyhoo, I'm hoping my writing hasn't gotten too bad since the last time I wrote something. The chapter didn't turn out quite as I'd planned, but hopefully it's not too bad!

xMxAx****

**i**

School's never a place anyone wants to be regardless of whether they're adult or child, but for Rin Nakamura, school was the bane of her life. She came from a wealthy family and after both her parents started their new jobs, the family became even wealthier. Naturally, her parents wanted her to attend the best school they could find for her but that school wasn't anywhere near as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. It was a school for children from wealthy families, heirs to massive family fortunes and the children of dignitaries. It was only because of her parents' hard work that she even qualified to attend the school since they were very picky about who they allowed into their walls.

Rin's high school shared a campus with the only university in the town and as she was a senior, she had a lot of free time between her classes which she spent watching the univesity students from the library windows. She envied them. They were old enough to decide their own paths in life and had enough freedom within the campus to do more or less what they liked as long as they met their tutor's expectations. She had seen the very studious students spend hours in the library beneath the balcony she always sat on and they never seemed to tire of thumbing through book after book searching for that one piece of information that would complete their work. There were the students who took the more active subjects and Rin had spent a long time watching them happily spend their days out in the lush green sports fields. Then there was a whole different group altogether, a group that Rin never knew quite what to make of. She had never seen them attend any of the sporting classes and they never set foot in the library, but she still envied their freedom.

She heaved a sigh and turned away from the window, looking down at the books that were scattered across her table with an expression of disgust. Rin worked hard to always have the best grades she could so her parents would be proud of her, but those grades came with a price. Her social life was virtually non-existant for a girl of eighteen and other students resented the fact that she always scored the highest in her year group after every exam. In the year since she had started attending the school, Rin had yet to make a single friend and discovered that she had made enemies instead. Most of the students seemed to somehow know that her family was not anywhere near as wealthy as theirs and therefore considered her beneath them but they were infuriated by being beaten in exams by a "commoner" such as her. The few students who were kind to her were reluctant to befriend the girl that nearly everyone else picked on lest they become targets too. All in all, life at school was pretty dismal for Rin.

Reaching forward, Rin began closing her books and piling them neatly on top of each other before reaching for the blazer that hung carelessly over the back of her chair. She shrugged it on and stood still for a moment, surprised when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the tall windows. Most of the other students in her year group took great care of their blazers, knowing that it represented them being the eldest students in the school and therefore able to do things that other students could not, but Rin wrinkled her nose as turned away from the image of her wearing the smart black blazer with silver buttons glinting in the sunlight.

As she headed back to the main school building where her locker was located, Rin let her mind wander as she dodged a few groups of students walking past her. Her parents spent very little time at home and were usually in the capital city or away in a disant country for extended periods of time. As it was, Rin hadn't seen her parents in hearly six months since they had gone abroad to work on a project that required their expertise. She didn't know quite what they did to earn the amounts of money that they did since their career choices had never particularly interested her, but she did wonder from time to time. Every now and then she would get a phone call from one or both of her parents, but they rarely came to visit her in person.

The large house that her parents had bought just before leaving the country was still largely unfurnished and although Rin's mother had suggested that she decorate the house for them, Rin wasn't interested in the decor of the overly large house in which she lived. Only three of the six bedrooms were in use and the reception room had been converted into Rin's living room, study and dining room much to the displeasure of her housekeeper. Suzume had worked for Rin's family since Rin was a child and had become a mother figure for the teenager. The older woman always tried to make sure the house was in order, but she could do little to try and organise the house when Rin showed little interest in anything that lay beyond the walls of her bedroom and living toom.

Suzume occupied one of the bedrooms on the same floor as Rin and the other was occupied by a young man Rin's father had employed initially to keep an eye on Rin and to make sure nothing happened to her without her parents knowledge. The young man, Kazuki, was in his late twenties and had taken an instant liking to Rin and she to him. He had a carefree attitude that always set her at ease, but she knew that behind his happy-go-lucky exterior was a man who had a strong sense of duty when it came to looking after her. More than once he had berated her for acting foolishly before reverting to the elder brother persona he adopted when they were together. Rin knew she was blessed to have to such caring people in her life and she always tried not to trouble them wherever possible.

The final bell of the school day rang shrilly and echoed down the corridors, startling Rin out of her thoughts as she hastily shouldered her bag and tucked her books under her arm as she made her way towards the gates. The university students mingled with the high school students as everyone made their way towards the freedom of the outside world. Rin felt a small smile tug her lips as she watched people she had seen earlier that day wander past, all engrossed in a conversation or laughing happily as they walked. She felt a momentary pag of loneliness as a large group walked past her. One of the men brushed past her and accidentally knocked her bag off her shoulder. Hastily, he turned and picked it up to hand to her, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Sorry, kid. Didn't see you there," he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck as though embarrassed by the whole incident.

He was gone before Rin could reply and she shrugged the incident away. Unlike the people from the high school, the university students didn't treat her differently. To them she was just another person, a kid as the man had just pointed out. Sighing, she started to walk forwards again when she tripped over something on the ground. Heaving yet another sigh, she pushed herself to her knees and looked up to find two smug girls she didn't recognise standing over her. They gave her sinister smiles before walking away, their shrill laughter seemingly louder than all the other sounds. Rin gave their retreating figures a half hearted glare before standing up to assess the damage to her person. She felt a little bit of blood ooze down her knee and resisted the urge to sigh again. Ignoring the curious looks she was getting from the unversity students and the malicious looks being directed at her by the other students, Rin held her head high and walked towards the gate.

Outside the gate were long lines of cars of varying colours and beside each one stood an impeccably dressed man or woman, their faces a mask of apathy as they waited patiently for the student they were collecting. Halfway down the long line was a black car with a tall man leaning casually against it. He looked very out of place, but he surveyed his surroundings with a look of disdain. Rin felt a wave of relief wash over her and hastened her steps as she grew closer and closer to the car. The man noticed her and grinned, flicking his red hair over his shoulder as he straightened.

"Had an accident, Miss Rin?" he asked, eyeing her bleeding knee with a raised eyebrow.  
>"It's just a graze, Kazuki," Rin replied with a smile as she gratefully accepted his help with her small pile of books.<br>"Best let Suzume have a look at that when we get home," Kazuki advised her seriously before closing the car door behind her.  
>"Suzume will just fuss. It's not serious," Rin protested and pouted at her friend as he slipped into the driver's seat.<br>"Serious or not, you should have it looked at."  
>"You worry too much, Kazuki."<br>"It is my job to worry about you, Miss Rin," he replied with a grin, knowing that statement annoyed her.  
>"Well I suppose I should be grateful that it is your job to worry about me since you obviously wouldn't otherwise," Rin replied, her tone cold as she glared out the window.<p>

Kazuki didn't reply as he pulled into the driveway of their home. He picked up Rin's books and hurried to catch up with her as she stalked up the steps to the front door. Making her angry was not the best thing to do and it was quite a difficult thing to achieve, but she would quickly recover from her bout of anger and also forget the matter they had been discussing before. Rin was very shy and patient so making her angry was something very few people could do, but Kazuki had learnt quickly what to say to get her riled up. It was amusing for him even though he knew Suzume would probably berate him for it if she ever found out.

"Suzume is out doing the grocery shopping this afternoon," Kazuki said when Rin peered into the kitchen with a puzzled expression. Putting her books down, he pointed at the sofa and looked at her seriously. "Sit down."

Sighing dramatically, Rin sat down heavily on the sofa and watched the tall male disappear and return with a first aid kit in hand. He pulled up a stool and sat down before devoting his attention to Rin's bleeding knee. This sort of thing happened quite often. Kazuki would tend to the minor scrapes and bruises she got at school and Suzume would pretend that she hadn't seen them. Much later in the afternoon, Suzume returned from her shopping trip and walked into the sitting room once everything was in its rightful place. She sighed as she took in the sight before her. Kazuki was sitting comfortably on the sofa idly flicking through the pages of one of the many magazines that lay on the table while Rin dozed peacefully beside him, her head resting against his thigh and a tranquil look on her face.

"Her parents would skin you alive if they walked in on a scene like this," Suzume said quietly, sitting down in a nearby chair and frowning at the younger man.  
>"They hired me to be her companion. I'm not doing anything they could find fault with and in any case, she's old enough to make her own decisions," Kazuki said with a shrug as he replaced the magazine on the table and looked down at Rin.<br>"She is old enough to make her own decisions," she agreed. "She should leave that school. I don't like the way she's changed because of it."  
>Kazuki was silent for a moment and gently brushed Rin's hair away from her face as he tried to think how to phrase his response. "Rin is not selfish. She knows her parents sent her there for a reason and she intends to do the best she can there. We should respect that and simply help her as much as we can."<br>"You can help her," Suzume said with a frown. "She doesn't confide in me. Why she confides in a vagabond like you is beyond me."  
>"She just can't resist me," he replied with a grin.<p>

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Very little of any interest happened in the days that followed. There were the usual trips and falls where Rin would go home with minor injuries but she refused to let it get to her although she knew she was fooling herself if it didn't worry her. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she continued to ignore her bullies. Would they go to greater lengths to bully her? All of this simply over the fact that she scored near perfect scores in her exams through hard work alone.

After a morning of observing people in the classroom and the library, Rin chose to seek solitude in the extensive school gardens. Not long ago she had discovered a small bench that overlooked a large pond in the gardens. It was hidden by tall shrubs and large flowers plants and it was a place where Rin knew she wouldn't be found. The pond always set her on edge on account of her hydrophobia, but she steered clear of it at all times. When she was younger she had fallen into a pond in her grandmother's garden and her feet had become entangled in whatever flora grew beneath the surface of the water. She distinctly remembered the awful feeling of not knowing if she would survive, but she had been pulled out of the water by her father who had obviously been keeping a close eye on his inquisitive daughter. Despite her father's timely rescue, Rin was still uncomfortable around large bodies of water.

She sighed as she sat down on the bench and looked out across the pond, smiling slightly at the sight of the sunlight glinting off its surface. It was the kind of thing you saw in paintings or photographs. There was complete silence and Rin relished it. School was always busy and noisy so finding a place as quiet as this helped her think clearly.

She had just been looking at a particularly difficult mathetmatical problem in her text book when a rustling caught her attention. Getting to her feet, Rin walked towards the source of the noise slowly. The thought that it might be a small animal crossed her mind before she discarded it since she had never seen any kind of wildlife in the gardens. Just as she stopped in front of one of the large shrubs, a hand shot out of the bushes and grabbed her wrist in a bruising grip. Wincing in pain, Rin tried unsuccessfully to free herself and mentally made a mental note of how the bullying tactics seemed to have changed. A tall body was attached to the hand that gripped her wrist and Rin could only stare in amazement at the girl who stood before her.

The girl's long blonde hair fell to her waist and her piercing blue eyes looked as cold as ice as she glared at the shorter girl before her. Rin had seen her before but she didn't know her name. The girl took a step towards Rin who promptly stumbled backwards.

"What makes you think you're so special?" the girl hissed angrily. "What makes you think you can waltz into the school and become teacher's pet overnight?"  
>"I-I'm not a teacher's pet!" Rin tried to say bravely, but the words seemed to lack conviction.<br>The girl rolled her eyes. "I spent two years working hard to make sure my teachers all gave me perfect grades but you just had to appear and ruin it! I don't see what's so special about you. You're just a commoner! You should thank your parents for their hard work that you into this school. Normally commoners like you are turned away immediately."

While Rin stood in shocked silence, staring at the girl as though she'd taken leave of her senses, two more girls appeared beside their friend with disconcerting smiles on their faces. She knew that the situation didn't bode well and as she cast a fearful glance towards the pond, she hoped that it wouldn't involve the water. Unfortunately, the girl seemed to have noticed the fearful look that crossed Rin's face briefly and smirked to herself.

"Throw her in the pond," she said simply before turning to walk away.

Rin struggling violently as the other two girls grabbed her hands and dragged her towards the pond. A cry of frustration and fear left her lips as she continued to struggle against her captors but to no avail. There was thick dark mud on the edges of the pond and Rin recoiled at the sight of it. What would happen if she was submerged in the water? Would she be so paralysed by fear that she wouldn't be able to do anything? With those thoughts in mind, tears began to run down her cheeks as the girls struggled to push her into the water.

Just as she thought she had lost her battle with gravity and would soon be meeting the cold surface of the pond, Rin felt the girls let go of her abruptly. Much to her surprise, she didn't fall but instead felt arms wrap around her waist. Glancing over her shoulder, Rin was surprised to find a dark haired girl standing behind her with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her eyes widened as she saw that two other girls stood on either side of her while three men had trapped the two girls who had tried to throw her in the pond, a fourth man was approaching with the tall blonde girl trailing along behind him.

"Are you alright?" the girl who held Rin's waist asked, concern evident in her eyes when she saw the tears running down her face.

Rin nodded dumbly and stared at the sight before her. The three girls beside her guided her away from the pond to sit down on the bench beside her books again. A red haired girl sat beside her and offered her a tissue to wipe away her tears while the girl who had spoken to her moments ago simply wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders.

"For someone of such high standing in social circles, your manners are appalling," a tall dark haired man told the blonde girl who stood nearby, red in the face with anger.  
>A silver haired man nodded vehemently before giving the girl a sly grin. "Wouldn't it be a shame if your parents heard about this?"<br>"They can't know!" the girl exclaimed in a sudden panic.  
>"It would cause such a scandal if this lady's parents made a complaint about this!" the man continued, turning away from the girl to look at his friends as though it was a private conversation.<br>"No," Rin said in a shaky voice as she pushed herself to her feet. "Her parents won't find out and neither will mine. Just let her go."

The group stared at her in surprise before the men reluctantly let the trio of girls go on their way. The blonde scowled at Rin before she left and Rin knew that she would do well to steer clear of her. There would be no one to save her next time. Sighing, she realised how much of an effect the whole experience had had on her and she sat down heavily on the bench, burying her face in her hands as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"So you're just going to let it go? After what they tried to do to you?" the silver haired man asked, a frown on his face as he looked down at her.  
>"It doesn't matter," Rin said, her voice muffled by her hands. "If they'd succeeded they'd have proceeded on to worse things and they'll still do that even though they haven't succeeded."<br>"Where are your friends?" the red haired girl asked. "Why would they leave you alone if they knew you were being bullied?"  
>"I don't have any friends."<p>

Moments later, Rin was assaulted by a small body launching itself towards her and arms wrapping around her shoulders tightly. Gasping for breath, Rin raised her head and looked around in bewilderment.

"I'll be your friend!" the red head exclaimed passionately while the other two girls nodded their agreement. "I'm Ayame, by the way. The other two are Kagome and Sango."  
>Rin stared at her for a moment before remembering her manners. "Rin Nakamura."<br>"So you wanna tell us what you did to piss off the police chief's daughter, Rin?" the silver haired man asked, sitting down heavily on the grass nearby.  
>"Being alive probably," she mumbled, looking down at her hands<br>"Never mind her!" Ayame said and glared at her friend. "We'll be your friends! She wouldn't dare come near you again. What subject are you doing? Maybe we're studying towards the same degree. Wouldn't that be fun?"  
>"D-Degree?" Rin asked in confusion before realisation settled in. She'd been rescued by university students who apparently had realised she was only a high school senior. "I'm a high school senior."<br>"That should've been obvious from her uniform, Ayame," one of the two dark haired men said with a grin that earned him a punch from the red head.  
>"The fact that she's in the high school doesn't change a thing. We are on the same campus, just different buildings," Kagome said with a shrug. "By the way, the boys are rude so they haven't introduced themselves. That's Sango's boyfriend, Miroku. The other guy is Kouga, he has a major thing for Ayame but won't admit it."<br>"I don't have anything for her! I don't date women who're the same height as people half their age," Kouga said, crossing his arms and frowning at Kagome.  
>"Well I don't date people with the intelligence of people less than half their age," Ayame replied, glaring at Kouga.<br>"The one on the ground is my boyfriend, Inuyasha," Kagome continued as though the pair hadn't just interrupted her. "And the guy at the back there is Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru. He's the one who saw you were having a few problems with those girls."

Rin watched in amazement as a full blown argument seemed to erupt before her eyes. Everyone was talking all at once and it stunned her. Kouga and Ayame were arguing and calling each other every name under the sun and insulting each other in ways that made Rin blush. Inuyasha was repeatedly reminding Kagome that Sesshoumaru was only his half brother and that under no circumstances did he want her to introduce them as full siblings. While all this was taking place, a sharp slap rang out that caused everyone to be silent for a moment before the talk continued. Kagome seemed to notice Rin's alarmed expression and smiled kindly at her.

"Don't worry about this too much," she said as she returned to her seat beside her. "Miroku is a bit of a pervert so Sango keeps him in line."

Sighing deeply, Rin rubbed her eyes as the group continued to argue and assault each other. The only person who hadn't said anything was Sesshoumaru and she assumed that he was the introvert of the group. Glancing down at her watch, she saw that the bell for the end of the day had rung half an hour ago and she would be late getting to the gate. The group fell silent when she shot to her feet and began hastily putting her books away in her bag.

"Going somewhere?" Miroku asked with a grin while he rubbed the red patch on his cheek.  
>"I'm late," Rin mumbled, trying to pack away faster.<br>"We'll come to the gate with you," Sango said, shoving Miroku away from her and giving Rin a smile. "Those girls might be lurking around somewhere."  
>"No need!" Rin said hastily, clutching her bag to her chest and turning to face them all. "Thank you so much for your help, but I really need to go."<p>

Without another word, Rin bolted away and left the group staring after her in amazement. After a moment of stunned silence, they too started walking towards the gate with Rin only a few strides ahead of them.

"Not the most sociable of people, is she?" Inuyasha asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked.  
>"She's probably scared," Kagome said. "If she doesn't have any friends she probably thinks we're up to something."<br>"Any of you hear what those girls said to her?" Kouga asked.  
>"Nope," Inuyasha replied.<br>"We'll just have to keep an eye on her," Kagome said quietly. "She'll come around eventually when she realises we won't hurt her."

Rin lengthened her strides as she thought she heard Inuyasha's voice behind her. She was truly grateful to them for helping her, but she couldn't trust them just yet. They could just be another group trying a different method to bully her or they could be genuinely seeking her friendship, it seemed impossible to tell. She had a suspicion that they wouldn't leave her alone, but she supposed it would be a good way to judge what their true intentions were.

The rest walked behind her and watched as she walked faster as the gates appeared in the distance before breaking out into a run. She raced towards the gates and paused briefly to look around which was just enough time for them to catch up with her. Sensing their presence, Rin glanced over her shoulder and flashed them a brief, tentative smile before running down the sidewalk to one of the few cars that was still waiting. They watched as she stopped in front of it and a tall man unfolded himself from the driver's seat. He grinned at her and flicked away his cigarette before reaching for her bag and ruffling her hair as he opened the door for her. The group felt slightly relieved that there was at least one other person who seemed to have her best interests at heart so perhaps they could eventually win her around. 


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thank you for the reivews! :) I wasn't sure how this story was going to turn out since I've not written much for so long. I was a bit worried it'd start off rather badly and just get worse from there, but hopefully not. I've read through your reviews and will try to keep them in mind as I write. I'm going to give the story a bit of a twist from usual. I'm going to be researching as I go along to make sure my facts are as accurate as I can get them, so if I do make an error, please do tell me :) As for Kazuki... well his role in the story has already been planned out so you'll find out soon :)

Thank you again!

xMxAx

**ii**

After Rin's encounter with the older students, she found herself wondering what to think of them. The girls were obviously quite affectionate and genuine in their concern for her, but the men made her wonder. Some of the worst pranks that had been played on her had been played by the boys in her class so she was especially wary of men as a result. In the days that followed, Rin found herself understanding what it felt like to have a stalker or several stalkers in this case.

When she finished school, the older students were waiting outside the high school building for her and likewise when she arrived at school in the mornings. She found herself at a loss for what to do when Ayame came running towards her to give her an exuberant hug that had become her usual greeting. Eventually, Rin discovered that it didn't matter how she responded as none of them seemed to take offence to her awkwardness and lack of response. She also discovered that she had very little time during school hours to herself. It wasn't an unwelcome change, but it took some time getting used to it. Other students from the high school had few opportunities to play pranks on her which was a relief for her, but the unpleasant glares still continued and seemed to be more intense than usual.

Although the high school and university classes were held on different parts of the campus, lunch was served in one large dining hall that sat between the two buildings. The library sat close to the dining hall and Rin spent very little time in the dining hall since she preferred to spend time alone with her studies. She was still as determined as ever to do her parents proud and still get her good grades despite now having a small group of people she was still getting used to calling friends. Usually she would visit the dining hall long before the other students and then make her way over to the library where she would study as she ate.

Only a week or so after meeting Rin, the older students began to wonder where their new friend hid during lunch hour. Kagome sat down heavily on a bench in the dining hall one day and looked around the almost empty room in search of Rin. The others slowly joined her and carried on their conversations as they tucked into their meals. Sesshoumaru and a couple of his friends arrived not long after and joined their table with their own food, but there was still no sign of Rin. Growing impatient and slightly worried, Kagome slapped the table loudly with her hands and stood up.

"Something wrong, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked through a mouthful of salad.  
>Kagome frowned at him. "Rin's not here again!"<br>"Maybe she brings a packed lunch?" Ayame suggested. "If there's a guy to pick her up from school, there must be someone to cook the meals."  
>"That's not the point!" Kagome exclaimed, slapping the table again. "The point is that she's not here with us! What if something happens to her while we're not there?"<br>"She's managed a year so far, has she not?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, glancing at Kagome as he sipped his drink.

As Kagome prepared to retaliate, the doors swung open and a high school student shouldered her way into the room. The older students stared in surprise as Rin meandered her way across the room towards the food counter with her arms full of books and glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her nose was buried in her book and she moved along the counter gathering the food she wanted with such ease that it was obvious that this was a regular routine for her. Kagome grinned and stepped away from the table towards her.

Rin jumped in surprise and felt a shiver of fear run through her when a hand landed on her shoulder. She almost dreaded turning around to see who was behind her and what they intended to do with her. A wave of relief washed over her when she found Kagome grinning broadly at her. Turning away, she paid for her food and stepped out of line so that she could give her attention to Kagome.

"Where've you been hiding, Rin?" the other girl demanded.  
>"I-I've not been hiding," Rin replied quietly, eyes widening as Kagome took a few of her books from her and led her to a table nearby. "I've been studying."<br>Ayame waved the comment away with a dismissive flick of her hand. "You study too much, Rin. Don't you have a social life?"  
>"I don't have time for one."<br>"Of course you do! You just have to make time!" Sango protested with a frown.  
>Rin sighed. "The only thing keeping me in this school are my grades. If they slip just a little, either the other students will find a way to get me kicked out or my parents will take me out."<br>"Harsh," Inuyasha commented with a frown. "Why don't you come study with us after school? Sesh is pretty good academically and despite his appearances, Miroku is also pretty intelligent. You'd ace your exams with their help."  
>"I couldn't impose on you like that," Rin protested, blushing at the thought of relying on this group for help with her studies.<br>"You wouldn't be imposing on anyone," Ayame said with a smile as she thought the idea over. "We studying together a couple of days a week. It's a bit tough since we don't all study the same thing, but we manage."  
>"Before you ask, we all get above average grades," Miroku said with a grin.<br>"Give it a try before you make a final decision," Inuyasha advised. 

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rin considered her new friends' offer for several days, trying to decide if they meant what they said. She had yet to tell Kazuki and Suzume about her new friends and couldn't help but wonder what they would say when they discovered them. The bell had just rung signalling the end of the day and Rin was making her way towards the building's exit when she decided to accept their offer. If the session proved to be just as useful as they said it would, then it would perhaps rid her of her few lingering doubts about their intentions towards her. She wanted to trust them and with each passing day she felt a little less worried about spending more time with her. All that remained was to banish the few little worries that lurked in the back of her mind.

"Riiiiin!" Ayame's voice called from the doors where she stood waving excitedly. "We're having a study session tonight. Will you join us?"  
>Rin hesitated as she was engulfed in one of Ayame's bear hugs and then nodded slowly when she was released. "I'll join you, but I need to tell Kazuki first."<p>

The group followed her to the gates and watched as she disappeared down towards the car where a now familiar man stood, waiting patiently for her arrival. As they watched the pair interact from a distance, Inuyasha frowned when Kazuki glanced in their direction. Leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, Inuyasha studied him carefully for a moment.

"Does that Kazuki guy look familiar to any of you?" he asked, wracking his brain for a clue as to where he might know the man from.  
>"Yeah. I don't know where I'd know him from though," Kouga answered after a slight pause.<p>

The conversation didn't continue as Rin returned with a vague smile on her usually serious face. She stopped beside Kagome and seemed to hesitate before speaking.

"Kazuki says that it's fine if I study with you as long as he knows where to pick me up from and what time," she said quietly with an uncertain look on her face.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "We don't usually time how long it takes so just tell him one of us will drop you off at home when we're done. It won't be late." 

They watched as Rin relayed this message to her companion and after a while, Kazuki gave her a long look and cast a glance at her new friends before nodding and getting into the car. It was obvious that he wasn't pleased with the idea, but it was equally obvious that he didn't want to risk upsetting Rin in any way. Kagome slipped an arm through Rin's when the younger girl returned and smiled reassuringly.

"We'll look after you, Rin. We're studying at Sango's tonight so it's not that far away from here," Kagome said with a smile as she led the way down the pavement.

As it turned out, Sango's house was also Miroku's house and it was then that Rin realised how serious a relationship the pair had behind their arguing and fighting. The house was spotlessly clean and Rin felt almost guilty for walking over the polished wooden flooring in her school shoes despite Sango's reassurances that it was alright. She hesitated in the doorway of the living room as she watched the group make themselves comfortable as drinks and snacks were passed around while books were being opened and conversations took on a completely different tone to what they normally did.

"Sit next to me, Rin," Ayame said with a smile as she patted the sofa beside her.

Rin eyed the spot on the sofa beside Ayame as she slowly made her way across the room. Moments later she found herself wedged between Ayame and Sango who were animatedly discussing their work with technical terms that went straight over her head. The sound of the door opening caused the group to fall silent before conversation picked up again. Sesshoumaru and the two friends she had seen him with at lunch time a few days back had arrived and were also making themselves comfortable on the other side of the room. The rest of the group had always been eager to talk to her about anything and everything, but she had never once talked to Sesshoumaru about anything. He didn't even greet her verbally, only a nod of acknowledgement. She briefly wondered if maybe he was a mute before Ayame's dramatic gasp broke through her thoughts.

"I can't believe you chose History, Rin!" Ayame exclaimed, her face a picture of disgust. "I don't know how you could enjoy it. Trying to remember all those dates!"  
>"History's a very interesting subject," Rin protested quietly. "I'm just not very good at it."<br>"Well we have a problem there," Inuyasha interrupted from his seat beside Kagome on the opposite sofa. "None of us ever took History."  
>"Bankotsu did!" Kouga said excitedly, looking over his shoulder at Sesshoumaru's dark haired friend who was engrossed in a thick book.<br>"What?" he asked, looking a bit confused as he lowered the book.  
>"You took History, didn't you?" Kouga demanded, looking slightly irritated at having been ignored.<p>

"Yeah, why?"  
>"Reckon you could give Rin a hand with her work?"<br>Bankotsu looked over at Rin who was flipping through a book on the other side of the room and sighed to himself. "Sure."  
>"Rin!" Kouga called, surprising her slightly as she looked up quickly from her book. "Bankotsu will help you! Go sit with him. He can answer all your questions."<p>

Looking across the room to the man Kouga was pointing at, Rin couldn't help but swallow nervously. He looked very serious and slightly intimidating as she slowly gathered up her books. He must've sensed her nervousness as he shifted slightly on the bench at the dining table on which he sat and gave her a vague smile. Rin sat down hesitantly, returning his smile weakly as she tried to calm her racing nerves. As she opened her books to the page she was working from, she realised that she was also sitting beside Sesshoumaru and fought the urge to blush. Inexperienced though she was when it came to matters involving men, Rin had to admit that she was probably sitting between to of the most good looking men she had ever laid eyes on.

The pair were startlingly different in appearance and she had no doubt that the differences between them didn't simply end with their appearance. Sesshoumaru sat to her left, leaning casually against the wall with one leg propped up on the bench. His amber eyes were partially hidden behind his silver bangs as he scanned the page of the book he held in one hand while the other made notes in the notebook on the table. Bankotsu, on the other hand, had turned around on his seat to provide Rin with enough space to sit beside him. He had dark hair that hung over his shoulder in a long braid and his red eyes seemed to glow as he watched her flip through the pages in her text book. Rin caught her breath when he leaned towards her to look at what she was struggling with. Bankotsu didn't seem to notice and made himself comfortable beside her as he pulled his notebook towards him.

"What're you struggling with here?" Bankotsu asked quietly, scanning the page of Rin textbook before fixing her with his piercing red gaze.  
>"I-I'm not too sure," Rin admitted, blushing slightly as she looked down at her hands. "I've understood everything else so far, but I don't really know why I'm having trouble with this section."<p>

"Probably your mindset," Sesshoumaru murmured without looking up from his book and causing Rin to jump in surprise.

The usually silent male looked up when she jumped and looked her over with expressionless amber eyes that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Hearing him speak was something she had definitely not been expecting and Rin suddenly wondered how she was supposed to react. Unlike Inuyasha's loud clear voice, Sesshoumaru was much quieter and much deeper and it sent shivers down Rin's spine.

"M-my mindset?" Rin asked, hastily pushing aside her surprise as she turned slightly to look at him. "What do you mean?" 

Instead of giving her a direct response, Sesshoumaru carefully marked the page he had been reading and put the book aside. He resisted the urge to smirk in amusement when Rin leaned away slightly when he reached for the notebook she was holding tightly in her hands. When he slid it out of her grasp, he flipped through it quickly and smirked at what he saw. Opening the book to the last page she had been writing on, Sesshoumaru pointed at the tiny, neat characters that were written across the page.

"This is the topic you're currently studying, am I right?" he asked, glancing at her and seeing her nod. He turned the pages backward to some notes she had taken only a week before and pushed the book towards her. "It seems to me that you understood what you were studying then a lot better and were able to take more notes, but perhaps you became frustrated that you could not understand this topic as easily. Perhaps that frustration in preventing you from understanding it fully?"  
>"Makes sense to me," Bankotsu agreed and picked up his pencil and began circling various sentences and dates in the textbook in front of Rin. "You don't need to know all of the information. Just the key parts. A lot of it is irrelevant."<br>"Irrelevant?"

Bankotsu nodded. "When it comes to writing your exam, keep to the point and don't drift off and talk about things that don't have anything to do with your question. If you try to remember everything from the textbook you stand a pretty good chance of drifting off course."

"How do I know what I need to answer a question?" Rin asked with a frown.  
>"Practice," the dark haired male said with a smile. <p>

While Rin was listening to her new mentor with rapt attention, Kagome was watching over the back of the sofa with a grin on her face. The others followed her line of sight and couldn't help but smile at the sight. For the first time, Rin seemed to have forgotten her shyness and was starting to interact without any reservations. She was obviously eager to learn more from Bankotsu and Kagome couldn't help but giggle as she watched her new friend.

"If I had known that all I needed to do to get her to come out of her shell was to sit her down with Bankotsu, I'd have done that at the very beginning," Kagome said with a grin as she snuggled into Inuyasha's side.  
>"Well maybe we can convince him to tutor her," Inuyasha suggested, draping his arm over his girlfriend's shoulders. <p>

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kazuki was pacing the living room and glancing at the clock every so often, his anxiety rising a little with each passing minute. On the other side of the room, Suzume sat in one of the armchairs and watched the younger man pace. She couldn't help but smile as she was reminded of a father waiting for his daughter to come home after a night out.

"Kazuki, sit down," Suzume said with a smile.  
>The red haired man paused and glared at her. "Rin hasn't come back and it's nearly 9 o'clock! How can you not be worried?"<br>"She's eighteen years old. She's not stupid."

"We don't even know where she is! I don't trust that group either," he muttered, returning to his pacing as he spoke.  
>"How can you not trust them? You've never met them."<br>Kazuki stopped and looked Suzume in the eye with a seriousness rarely seen in the usually jovial man. "I recognise them and I'm not eager to see Rin befriend people like that."

Suzume seemed to understand and nodded with an equally serious look. "I understand your feelings, but you shouldn't assume Rin will make that same mistake. As I said, she's not stupid. Keep an eye on her but let her make her own decisions." 


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thank you for the reviews! :) I'm going to try and update as often as I can. I wanted this particular chapter to be a bit more about Sesshoumaru since I realise he hasn't played a major role just yet. It didn't turn out exactly as planned, but never mind. I hope I managed to get all the errors out and hopefully this chapter won't be bold and underlined like the last one was. Anyhoo, next chapter will be up in the early part of next week! :)

xMxAx

**iii**

It had been a week since Rin had attended a study session with her new friends and there was a subtle but definite change in her behaviour that the group was more than a little bit pleased with. Her occasional nervous stutter had gone and although she still didn't say much, she didn't seem to struggle as much with replying to them when they spoke to her.

Bankotsu spent a great deal of time with Rin during lunch hours, after school and in the free time they had between lessons. He turned out to be a fountain of knowledge on many subjects, not just History. It soon became a habit for Bankotsu and Rin to spend hours discussing various subjects and even though he took no part in their discussions, Sesshoumaru sat nearby and listened quietly as he engrossed himself in his own work.

Not long after the two joined her little group of friends, Rin noticed that no one had picked on her for quite some time. As she sat at the back of one her classes, she glanced around at her fellow students and was surprised to see none of them glaring at her from behind their books. A little spark of hope flared within her. Maybe they'd leave her alone now. Unfortunately, the peace was not to last and after a couple of weeks of peace and quiet, Rin found herself face to face with the very girl who had unintentionally caused her to meet her new friends. They stood staring at each other in a hallway between classes and even though the few people who were still passing by knew that a confrontation of some kind was about to happen, they scurried past, trying hard not to be noticed. Rin sighed and shifted the books in her arms and the taller girl glared.

"So now you've got university students looking after you?" she spat. "You're pathetic. You can't make friends here so you go to the university to do it?"  
>Rin frowned. "What difference does it make to you if I have friends or not?"<br>"It makes no difference whatsoever," the girl said with a smirk. "Having friends isn't going to change what's about to happen."

Before Rin could open her mouth to speak, a hand clamped down on her shoulder and she was spun around so fast that it made her dizzy. Her books were roughly taken from her by one of the two tall boys who had been standing behind her and even though she tried to protest, the other boy simply lifted her off her feet and put her over his shoulder as he turned to follow the other girl out of the building. Gasping in surprise, Rin pounded on his back and kicked her legs as much as she could but she knew that there was not escaping whatever was going to happen to her when he simply held her legs down and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"I wonder if Rin will be in the library today," Bankotsu asked quietly as he and Sesshoumaru pushed through the door and looked around for said girl.

"Probably has a lesson," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug as he sat down opposite a window and pulled out a textbook and notebook.

The pair began to work silently, pausing only to ask a question of the other before returning to their work moments later. After a while, Sesshoumaru sat back in his chair and looked out the window at the neat rows of flower beds that lined the pathways that ran along the side of the library. As he gazed out the window, he sat forward in surprise as he stared at an astounding sight that was passing the window. Nudging his friend, he pointed out the window and frowned slightly.

Outside the window, a girl was walking along the path with a smirk on her face and was followed by two tall boys who were talking between themselves. It wasn't the trio that caught Sesshoumaru's attention, however, it was the fact that Rin was slung over one of the boy's shoulders and was furiously pounding his back while saying something they couldn't hear through the glass. The two men rose to their feet and pushed open the window to see where they were going, but they had disappeared around the corner and out of sight. Bankotsu looked at Sesshoumaru with a confused expression.

"What's that about?" he asked.  
>"No idea, but that's the girl who was giving her trouble before," Sesshoumaru said as he began packing away his books.<p>

"Should we intervene or inform a teacher?" Bankotsu asked uncertainly as he followed his friend out of the library and down the path the group had taken moments before.

Sesshoumaru didn't reply as he turned the corner and was faced with another surprising sight. Instead of seeing the small group they were following, he found Miroku standing in the middle of the pathway looking slightly confused. He turned when he heard footsteps behind him and looked at his two friends with an increasingly baffled expression.

"What's going on?" Miroku asked, scratching his head and looking very much like a lost child.  
>"The police chief's daughter has Rin again," Sesshoumaru muttered, walking faster as they approached the corner of the library.<br>"Again?" Bankotsu asked, now just as confused as Miroku.

Miroku sighed as he picked up his pace. "She got hold of Rin a couple of weeks back and threatened to throw her in the pond."

"That's not really that bad as far as bullying goes."  
>"No, it's not that bad to most people, but I think Rin has an issue with large bodies of water." <p>

With that thought in mind, the three men broke into a run and skidded round the corner, breathing a sigh of relief when they spotted the little group in the distance. The girl and two boys were following a path that led down to the sports grounds at the very back of the campus but that path also passed the large swimming pool. A sudden shock of realisation hit the three men as they realised what was likely to happen.

Rin sighed to herself and took a deep breath as she prepared to resume her pounding on the boy's back. She looked up as she inhaled and almost gasped in surprise when she saw three figures running towards her and her captors. Narrowing her eyes, she recognised them as Miroku, Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru and her heart started to pound against her rib cage. Help was so close at hand, but she could only hope that her captors didn't do anything to her before help arrived.

She didn't have a chance to think the matter over further as she was set back down on her feet and she looked down in shock when she heard a splash and felt something wet rise up over the sides of her shoes. Rin stared at her shoes, unsure what to think, as she watched little waves break across her ankles before she looked up and made the mistake of glancing over her shoulder to see what was behind her. What she saw made her eyes widen in horror. Behind her was the large swimming pool and she was standing on the top most step in the shallower end.

"A common little tramp like you has no place in a school like this," the tall girl said with a smirk as she watched her two male companions hold Rin in place. "This school is for society's elite."

"She's not too bad looking for a commoner," one of the boys made the mistake of saying as he looked Rin over.

The girl slapped the back of his head and scowled at him. "You want to say that again, Hiro?"

"Sorry, Aine," he muttered, looking away from Rin.

"You are going to face your fear here and now. Then you will leave this school," Aine told Rin coldly.

"How does making me face my fear mean that I'll leave the school?" Rin asked weakly, her body starting to tremble as she realised just what the trio were planning.  
>"Self preservation," came the reply. "You will leave the school because you'll be too terrified to stay. We'll make sure you revisit this very place every single week until you leave."<p>

Rin felt her legs begin to get weak as she stared down at the water that lapped against her ankles. She felt paralysed by fear as she wondered what would happen next. Would they make her take a step deeper into the water or would they simply throw her into the deepest end of the pool and let her fend for herself?

The three men finally caught up with the small group and came to a halt just beside the edge of the pool and looked at the scene before them with wide eyes. The two boys holding Rin up stared at them with equally wide eyes before one of them grinned and nodded to the other. They moved in unison as they lifted Rin off her feet and threw her towards the deeper end of the pool while they laughed raucously. Aine joined them in laughter moments later when she realised what had happened.

While Miroku and Sesshoumaru lunged for Aine and her two friends, Bankotsu plunged head first into the water after Rin. The matter seemed to be resolved in a matter of minutes as the two boys stopped struggling and Rin emerged from beneath the water's surface. Bankotsu wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her along to the shallower end of the pool where he could stand. Rin clung to his shoulders like a lifeline and trembled violently even after Bankotsu sat her down on the grass near the edge of the pool.

"You clearly don't learn your lessons," Miroku said with a scowl as he pinned one of the boy's arms behind his back. "Is Rin alright?"  
>Bankotsu nodded from where he sat beside Rin. "She'll be alright once she calms down."<br>"What do we do with these three?" Miroku asked, looking at Sesshoumaru.

"We take them to a senior member of staff and tell them what's been going on."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Miss Nakamura's guardians have arrived," the principal's secretary announced from where she stood beside the door. "They will be here momentarily."

Rin, Sesshoumaru, Bankotsu and Mirokou sat in the principal's office with their three captives and the principal. The portly little man had been dismayed to hear that such behaviour was taking place in his school and had immediately set about preparing appropriate punishments for the three as well as informing their parents after making sure Rin was alright. Rin sat silently in her chair between Miroku and Bankotsu, her hair falling out of the neat bun she had tied it into that morning and wearing borrowed clothes that dwarfed her petite figure. She was still very pale from her shock and although the trembling had lessened, it had not gone away completely. 

The door at the end of the long office burst open and two figures hurried in. Rin recognised them instantly as Kazuki and Suzume even from far away. She gave a weak smile as she saw them coming closer but turned her head to look at Bankotsu when she heard him groan quietly.

"Please tell me those are not your parents," he muttered, running a hand through his damp hair and glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"No," Rin replied softly. "My guardians while my parents are away." 

Their conversation ended there as Suzume rushed towards Rin and enveloped her in a tight hug that threatened to break several of her ribs. Kazuki followed at a slower pace and looked at each of the three men questioningly before his gaze fell on Rin who offered him another weak smile. Reaching over Suzume's shoulder, he ruffled her hair affectionately before pulling the older woman away gently. Rin was out of her seat like a shot and launched herself towards Kazuki. He caught her easily and wrapped his arms around her as he fixed the principal with a cold look.

"What is going on?" he asked, his voice hard with barely controlled anger at the thought of something having happened to Rin when he could not be there to help her himself.

The principal cleared his throat and gestured to Aine. "It appears that this young lady has been bullying Miss Nakamura. This is the first we've learnt of it."  
>"That does not explain why Rin is wet and trembling," Suzume interrupted with a frown before her gaze fell on Bankotsu. "This young man is wet too and you let them both stay here where they might get ill?"<br>"Suzume, that is not the problem here," Kazuki muttered as he rolled his eyes skyward.  
>The older woman rounded on Kazuki and glared at him. "They need something warm to drink and something warm to wear! If you want to stay and carry on this conversation then go ahead, but these two are coming with me."<p>

Kazuki shook his head and gave Rin a gentle squeeze before stepping away and pushing her towards Suzume. Once she had Rin safely in her arms, Suzume turned to look at Bankotsu and the other two men with a serious expression.

"They all look quite pale," she said quietly, more to herself than to anyone else in the room.  
>"I imagine the whole experience was something of a shock to them, ma'am," the principal stated, his eyes wide with surprise after witnessing her outburst.<p>

Suzume shrugged and stepped towards the door which she opened and stood beside, her tone suggesting she would have no arguments. "They're all coming with me!"

Miroku fell into step with Suzume immediately as he led the way to the dining hall while Bankotsu, Rin and Sesshoumaru followed behind at a slower pace. Suzume seemed to have taken an instant liking to Miroku and laughed cheerfully at whatever he was telling her. The group sat down and watched the older woman disappear to find some warm drinks for them. Rin sighed and sank down in her seat, pulling the oversized jumper she wore closer around her as she felt a chill.

"Pretty eccentric guardians you have," Miroku commented with a lop sided grin as he looked at Rin who sat beside him.  
>Rin smiled. "They're always arguing about something. I've never once seen them agree about anything."<br>"They clearly care for you a great deal," Bankotsu said thoughtfully. "Where are your parents?"  
>"Rin's parents work abroad a lot of the time," Suzume supplied helpfully as she set down the drinks. "Kazuki and I have essentially brought her up. I probably could have done better without that vagabond hovering in the background, but Mr Nakamura insists that he stay."<br>"Kazuki wouldn't be pleased to hear you say that, Suzume," Rin said quietly, raising her drink to her lips with slightly shaking hands.

"Well I'm sure he's probably said something similar at some point," Suzume replied with a shrug and turned her attention to the three men. "Thank you so much for helping Rin. She really does have the strangest fear of water. I dread to think what could've happened if you hadn't been there."

"I'm surprised you've tolerated this for so long, Rin" Sesshoumaru said quietly, looking directly at her from across the table and causing her to blush.

"I didn't really have a choice," she murmured. "Mama and papa worked very hard to get me into this school. I feel that I would disappoint them if I were to abandon my studies here purely because a few people have an issue with my heritage."

The group fell into conversation, but Rin fell silent and Sesshoumaru looked at her carefully. She seemed quite mature for a girl of her age, but it struck him as sad that she didn't seem to have the same fun loving spirit many of the other students her age had. When one looked closely at her, one got the impression that she was a girl who liked to laugh and enjoy herself from the way her lips tilted up every so slightly at the corners, but the joy that would have otherwise lit up her chocolate brown eyes seemed to have been smothered. Her lips were drawn in a thin line and her brow furrowed just a little bit. It was obvious that she was struggling with something she wasn't eager to share, but Sesshoumaru knew that there was no point trying to get her to admit to it. It would be like trying to draw blood from a stone – a time consuming and utterly pointless exercise. He had learnt a great deal about those of a female persuasion over the past few years and he could recognise the look of an independent woman from a mile away. Rin was very much an independent soul and he was fairly certain that if she didn't want to talk about something, she'd shut herself up tighter than a clam.

Rin's soft sigh caught his attention and he glanced at her, surprised to find her cheeks red. She seemed to sense his gaze and she put down her mug more clumsily than she might've done at any other time and gave him a weak smile. It struck him in that moment that something was wrong. He stared at her dumbly for a few moments as she shivered in her seat, unnoticed by the other three who were deep in conversation.

"Are you alright?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, frowning slightly at her as she attempted to wrap her arms around herself as though to keep herself warm.  
>She nodded slowly, wincing slightly as though she movement caused her pain. "I'm fine."<br>"No, you are not fine," he muttered, reaching for his jacket and discreetly passing it to her. "But if you're going to be stubborn about it, at least try to wait until you get home before you pass out."  
>"I'll try," Rin replied with another vague smile as she pulled the jacket around her.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

"I can't believe she did that!" Kagome exclaimed, her voice reaching shrill levels as she heard what Miroku had to say. "What did they do to her? If she goes unpunished I'll find her and punish her myself!"  
>"Calm down, Kagome," Inuyasha said with a smirk. "I doubt the school would let that sort of thing go unpunished. Don't go getting yourself into trouble."<p>

"But they could've drowned Rin!" Ayame protested, obviously quite upset by the whole situation. "What sort of punishment was she given?"  
>Miroku shrugged and looked at Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru. "The principal called her parents but that's all I know. He said he's deal with the situation appropriately and wouldn't say any more."<p>

"Poor Rin," Kagome said with a sigh. "She hasn't been to school since?"  
>"No one's seen her, but from what I understand she usually keeps a low profile at school anyway so most people don't know she's around," Miroku replied. "Bankotsu's been collecting her school work for her and delivering it to her house though, but that Kazuki guy just takes it at the door." <p>

Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru looked at Bankotsu and saw a frown on his friend's face. He had accompanied Bankotsu to deliver Rin's school work to her, but Kazuki had scowled at them, taken the books and closed the door in their faces without a word. The man was obviously quite protective of Rin, but Sesshoumaru didn't understand quite why he and his friends were treated with barely concealed hostility by the older man.

"Why don't we all go and visit her?" Sango suggested. "Take her a gift of some kind and see how she is?"

Miroku looked uncertain. "I doubt we'll even get past the front door so long as that guy's there. It's almost like he sits there all day long waiting to turn people away."

"Well can just try!" Sango said with a smile.

Half an hour later, the group were climbing out of their cars and staring at Rin's home with surprise. Considering how much trouble she had at school for being a commoner who suddenly rose in the ranks of society, they'd been expecting an extravagant building but what they were faced with was a rather plain house that was dwarfed by the buildings around it. The garden was immaculate and despite it's rather modest appearance, it seemed a lot more homely than some of the stately houses that surrounded it. They approached the door and rang the bell, waiting patiently for someone to answer it. They were fully prepared to argue with the tall man who guarded Rin from everyone else, but they were pleasantly surprised when a short plump woman opened the door. Bankotsu, Miroku and Sesshoumaru recognised her as Suzume instantly and she smiled widely when she saw them.

"This is a surprise!" she exclaimed and stepped away and opened the door wide for them. "Come inside! It's not very warm today." 

The group were stunned at such a warm welcome and followed her inside. As they followed her through the house, they noticed that more than half of it was undecorated. They walked into a living room which was very homely and sitting on a large sofa in the far corner of the room was Rin. She was fast asleep against the large cushions of the sofa with a thick blanket wrapped tightly around her. A large stack of books were balanced precariously on the table beside the sofa and a thick tome lay on the floor next to her hand which must've been holding it before she fell asleep.

Suzume smiled and crossed the room towards the sleeping girl. She picked up the book and marked the page with Rin's book mark and placed it neatly on top of the pile nearby. Reaching out, she pulled the blanket over Rin's shoulders and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead before walking back towards the group that was standing in the door way and watching silently.

"You both seem to be very fond of Rin," Kagome comented as she sat down at the kitchen table and accepted a cup of tea from Suzume.  
>"We both love her dearly," Suzume agreed with a smile as she sat down with a quiet sigh. "Kazuki's only been here about two years. He was a right mess when Mr Nakamura found him and took him in. Made him promise that if he looked after Rin, he could stay here and always have shelter over his head."<br>"Really?" Inuyasha asked with a look of surprise. "That guy always looks and acts so perfectly that you'd never have thought he's done anything other than what he does now."  
>"I'm so glad you noticed," a masculine voice from the other side of the room said sarcastically. "I was beginning to think all my effort was going to waste."<p>

The group spun around in their seats and stared in surprise at the tall man who stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed and scowl on his face. Kazuki pushed himself off the door frame he had been leaning against as he listened to their conversation and picked up the few bags that sat at his feet as he moved into the room. Everyone watched in silence as he began packing away the bags' contents into the cupboards before he turned to scowl at them again.

"I do not believe my life story would be of any interest to people like you," Kazuki said acidly before turning slightly to frown at Suzume, albeit less ferociously. "I would appreciate it if you did not discuss it with them."  
>"Don't be rude, Kazuki," Suzume admonished gently as she pushed a warm cup of tea into the younger man's hands. "If you can't be civil to our guests, go and wait by Rin's bedside until she wakes up."<p>

A short while later Suzume sighed and sat down again, smiling at the group who had watched the exchange with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry for his behaviour. He's quite secretive and even I don't know much about him. I think Rin is probably the only person I know of who knows his whole story," the older woman said as she reached for the pot of tea to start refilling everyone's cups.  
>"I suppose that would explain why he's so protective of her," Kouga said in an unusually quiet voice.<br>"I believe Kazuki has his own reasons for caring about Rin so much," Suzume said with a smile. "I don't think it's purely because she knows his story. That's all a different story though and maybe one day Kazuki will tell us all himself. Since you all came together, was there something I could help you with?"  
>"We just came to see how Rin is," Kagome said, smiling at the older woman. "We were worried about her since she hasn't been at school for a while."<br>"You really shouldn't have worried," a sleepy voice said from the doorway.

Once again, the group turned in unison to look at the source of the voice. Rin stood in the doorway with a sleepy smile on her face and a scowling Kazuki behind her. Her long dark hair hung loose over her shoulders and was tousled from sleep. She looked very young as she stood before them all in an oversized shirt and her bare feet just visible beneath her loose trousers. Ayame squealed happily and jumped out of her seat, rushing across the room and wrapping her arms around Rin.

"You should've called one of us to let us know what was happening!" Ayame exclaimed after a moment, holding Rin at arm's length to look her over.  
>"She couldn't have done that," Sango said as she came over to ruffle Rin's hair affectionately. "We'll have to give her our numbers first. We'll do that later. How are you feeling?"<br>"Not too bad all things considered," Rin replied with a sleepy smile before turning her gaze to Bankotsu. "Thank you for bringing me my work. I'm sorry Kazuki sent you away each time. He's a bit too protective sometimes."  
>"Protective for your own good," Kazuki muttered under his breath before raising his voice when Rin turned to look at him. "Your lack of regard for your personal safety is astounding. I have no idea how you have managed to live safely for so long with only Suzume as your guardian."<br>Suzume raised an eyebrow and poked the tall man in the side with her finger as she rose to her feet. "I'll have you know Rin and I managed perfectly well without you. You spoil her too much and what will happen if you're not around and something happens she doesn't know how to deal with?"  
>"That won't happen. I gave my word to be with her and I will."<p>

Rin sighed and sat down beside Kagome. "Will you please stop that? I've had quite enough of your bickering to last a life time. Could I not have some peace and quiet when my friends have kindly come to visit?"

Suzume smiled brightly at Rin and pecked her on the cheek, whispering an apology in her ear as she bustled around the kitchen. Moments later, a tray of snacks and a pot of fresh tea sat on the table in front of everyone. Kazuki looked on with an expression of obvious disapproval, but he was ignored and was soon pushed out of the room by Suzume as the group was given time to themselves.

The girls were soon deep in conversation, trying to draw Rin into their conversation at every opportunity while the males simply looked on, adding their own two cents whenever they were asked for their opinions. Sesshoumaru took the chance to observe Rin closely. It was very obvious that she wasn't as well as she would have them believe. Her face was still slightly flushed and the dark circles under her eyes indicated lack of sleep. He could certainly see why Kazuki would want her to remain resting, but he did think that his methods were a bit extreme.

"When will you be coming back to school, Rin?" Kagome asked after a while, deciding to voice the question that was on everyone's lips.

Rin looked down at her hands and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I don't know. There's no real reason why I should stay at home any longer."  
>"Don't worry about what that girl said," Miroku said suddenly, surprising Rin with the note of compassion in his voice. "She won't be able to act on her threat."<br>"I-I know," Rin murmured.

"But you're still scared?" Sango guessed and gave her an encouraging smile while Ayame wrapped her arms around her again.

"It might not be a good idea for us to remain friends," she said at length. "I'm only causing you trouble."

Inuyasha chuckled and grinned at her as he leaned across the table to grab a sandwich off the plate Suzume had left for them. "You're not trouble at all. Miroku and Kouga probably cause the most trouble."  
>"You wanna say that again?" Kouga hissed as he glared at Inuyasha.<p>

"Well you do," Inuyasha said with a shrug that suggested he was used to Kouga's antics. "I don't believe there's been a day go past in the last year when you haven't been in some kind of trouble." He grinned at Rin and jerked a thumb in Kouga's direction. "You're an angel in comparison to what this guy does when he thinks he won't get caught." 

An argument soon broke out between the two men and Rin watched in fascination as they traded insults and threats as though they were nothing. Kagome looked at the pair and sighed, shaking her head as though in despair. She looked at Rin and smiled at the look of surprise on her face.

"So Rin, have you always been such a brilliant student?" she asked, seeking to draw attention away from the arguing men and maybe learn more about the shy teenager.  
>Rin stared at her for a moment and shook her head slowly. "No. Only in the last year. I didn't want to disappoint my parents or Kazuki and Suzume."<br>Kagome nodded. "What do you do for fun? Surely you don't just study all the time? I know you said you don't have time for a social life, but you must do something when you're not studying."  
>"I... uh... read mainly."<p>

"We need to get you out and doing more things," Ayame said with a giggle. "You're such a pretty girl. You shouldn't stay inside all the time."  
>"Suzume always says that but Kazuki thinks I'll hurt myself," Rin replied softly, looking down at the cup Kagome had just handed her.<br>"Well if you were to come out with us, you'd be fine," Inuyasha suggested. "You'd have to be very accident prone if you can be around all of us and still end up hurting yourself."  
>Rin shook her head and smiled sadly. "Kazuki would never allow it. He always goes with me if ever I go anywhere."<br>"Your bodyguard's too protective of you," Miroku muttered, crossing his arms. "Borders on obsession really."  
>"He means well," Rin said with a smile.<p>

"Maybe we can convince him to let you spend a day with us," Kagome suggested. "There's only a few days of school left before we have a holiday. We could go out and spend the day together!"

Rin wasn't given a chance to comment on the idea before Kagome, Ayame and Sango had left the room with all of the men in tow as they went in search of Kazuki and Suzume. When she looked around the kitchen, Rin found herself with only Sesshoumaru as company and blushed slightly, lowering her gaze to her hands.

"You're feeling better?" he asked, looking her over briefly with an intense amber gaze.

Rin nodded. "Yes, thank you. I have your jacket upstairs."  
>"Will you be returning to the school?" Sesshoumaru asked, ignoring her statement.<p>

"I'm not going to let a girl like her stop me from finishing my education," she said, lifting her head with determination evident in her eyes. "I've only got half a year or so until I'm finished high school anyway."

The conversation ended abruptly when the group returned to the kitchen. Bankotsu sat down beside Rin and ruffled her hair as she smiled vaguely at him. As he watched the scene unfold, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but wonder when Rin had become so friendly with Bankotsu. What was it about the dark haired man that made her more at ease in his company than in anyone else's? He narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the pair talk quietly but his contemplation was interrupted by Kagome's excited laughter.

"He agreed!" she said happily.

"Who agreed to what?" Rin asked, pausing her conversation with her tutor to pay attention to Kagome.

"Your obsessive bodyguard said you could come out with us for a day," Miroku said with a grin.  
>"Really?"<br>"If I had my way, you wouldn't be going anywhere," Kazuki's deep voice said from the doorway and the group looked up to find him scowling again. 

Rin rose to her feet and walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders when she stopped just in front of him. The simple gesture seemed to soothe the irate man and he patted her head gently before stepping away and giving her a lopsided smile.

"I've been out voted though," he said more to himself than to anyone else before turning his attention to the group who were watching the scene with happy smiles. "Rest assured that I will make life very difficult for you if anything happens to Rin during this day trip of yours."  
>"Don't worry so much!" Suzume scolded him in a teasing voice as she led him out of the room. "They promised to look after her and I'm sure they will."<br>"I didn't think he'd agree so easily," Rin said quietly, her eyes wide with surprise as she watched her companion and housekeeper walk away.  
>"Suzume works miracles," Kagome said cheerfully. "Prepare yourself for an exciting day this weekend!"<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**V**

When the weekend came around, Rin sat nervously in the kitchen as she ate her breakfast and listened to Kazuki's warnings about safety. She sighed to herself. Maybe Miroku was right and Kazuki was a bit too protective of her, but she supposed he had every right to be if he'd been asked by her father to look after her in his place. Although, her father could have still taken Kazuki in and stayed at home to play the role of guardian himself as opposed to running off with her mother and travelling the world while they supposedly worked, she thought slightly bitterly.

"Your friends have just arrived," Suzume said with a smile as she stepped away from the window she'd been looking out of.

"You'll call if anything happens or you need anything, won't you?" Kazuki asked Rin seriously as he opened the front door for her.

"I promise I will."

Three cars were parked side by side on the driveway and the group were standing beside the middle car as they waited for Rin. When the front door opened, they turned to wave a greeting and watched with amusement as the two adults fussed over Rin who had an expression on her face that seemed to tell them that she had been fussed over so many times before that she knew there was no point trying to escape it. Kazuki glared at them and stalked back into the house while Suzume smiled at them and waved a greeting.

"Ready for the day, Rin?" Kagome asked cheerfully as the younger girl stopped at her side.  
>"I never ready for a surprise," Rin admitted with a slight smile.<p>

"It's a good surprise!"

"That aside," Inuyasha interrupted as he jerked a thumb in Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru's direction. "You'll be riding with them."  
>"Why?" Ayame demanded, her expression clearly saying that she'd been hoping Rin would be riding with her and Kouga.<p>

"Because I don't have my car," Inuyasha said simply. "Kouga drives like a madman and Miroku spends more time admiring the scenery than he does concentrating on the road. Sesh is the safest driver here today."

Ayame mumbled something inaudible but nodded as the group parted to get into the cars. As the rest of the group got into the cars, Rin turned to look at Bankotsu when he put a hand on her shoulder and held the car door open for her. Smiling shyly, she slid into the car and was slightly surprised when she found herself sitting between the two tall men. She hadn't looked at the car very carefully, but she hadn't realised that there was such limited seating.

"Any idea where we're going, Sesh?" Bankotsu asked as he shifted in his seat to get comfortable.

Sesshoumaru shook his head but didn't reply immediately as he focused on making sure Rin was safely buckled in beside him. "No idea. Kagome said it was a surprise."

"I hope it's not one of her bright ideas," the other male said with sigh and smiled slightly when he noticed Rin looking confused. "Last time she tried to surprise someone, the plan went up in flames. Literally."  
>"She set fire to something?" Rin asked, frowning in confusion.<br>"Not intentionally. She was trying to set up a barbecue for one of the people who lives in our neighbourhood. Unfortunately, she didn't really know what she was doing and almost burnt the poor man's fence down."

Rin giggled. "I bet she was upset about that."

"Not half as upset as the man who owned the fence," Sesshoumaru murmured with a smirk.

The conversation didn't continue much longer as the trio of cars pulled to a stop outside a tall building. Rin hastily followed Bankotsu out of the car and stared up at the building as the others made their way over to them. Kagome linked her arm through Rin's and started towards the door of the building.

"I thought we could start with something simple," she said with a smile, pausing briefly to push open the heavy wooden doors. "I didn't really know what sort of thing you'd be interested in, so this is a bit of a gamble. We've got lots more to do today, so hopefully you'll like at least some of them!"

The group stepped into the building and found themselves in a very rough looking building. The floor was uneven concrete and the white walls were dull with age and stained with various colours of unidentifiable substances. Kagome seemed to know where she was going and led them through the dim room towards the back. When they arrived at the back of the room, Rin gasped in surprise when she realised that the building was actually a kind of train station. There were a few families with young children standing on the platform talking excitedly, but what really caught Rin's attention was the sight of a small train standing just beside the platform. Rin glanced at Kagome who grinned in response and led the way towards one of the small open carriages.

"What is this place?" Rin asked her friend in confusion.  
>"It's a train station," Kagome said with a grin. "I've booked for us to take a tour of the wildlife park. I didn't really know what sort of thing you'd like, but I thought you would probably like animals."<br>"So why the train?"  
>"That's how you get around the park. I suppose it's meant to be a bit different from the other parks you drive around, but I think it's a good idea. You can focus more on your surroundings and less on driving."<p>

Moments later, Rin found herself seated at the back of the carriage and once again between Sesshoumaru and Bankotsu. Looking ahead, she smiled at the sight of Inuyasha and Kagome sitting together with Miroku and Sango sitting just behind them. For the first time since she had met them, Rin noticed that Sango did not push away her boyfriend when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but what surprised Rin the most was that just in front of them, Ayame was snuggled into Kouga's side with her head resting on his shoulder. She must've looked confused because she jumped slightly when she heard a quiet voice just beside her break the silence.

"They'll deny any involvement, but the reality is that they've been an item for a long time now," Sesshoumaru said quietly, leaning down to whisper the words into Rin's ear.

Rin turned to look at the man beside her and blushed scarlet when she realised how close they were. Hastily, she faced forward again and clenched her hands in her lap as she struggled to find a way to reply.

"Why do they deny it?" she asked the obvious question, frowning as she looked at the pair.  
>"No idea. Perhaps they're shy?" <p>

The very notion of Kouga and Ayame being shy sent Rin into a fit of giggles and Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. For the first time since he met her, he took the opportunity to look her over carefully. Her dark hair was pulled back as usual but as opposed to the usual braid, it hung down her back and was secured at the nape of her neck by a small clip. The anxiety that seemed to plague her was slowly disappearing and she was slowly beginning to open up a bit more to the group. Sesshoumaru noticed that the person she seemed to be most comfortable with was Bankotsu and he couldn't help but frown at the thought although he wasn't sure why. The most logical explanation for their closeness was the fact that they were both very intelligent and were so engrossed in their studies that it was at times hard to tear them away from their books. Not only that, but Rin had since started studying with Bankotsu in between lessons and sometimes even during lunch so it was hardly surprising that she was more at ease with him, but Sesshoumaru still couldn't shake his feeling of unease.

The little train pulled out of the station and wound it's way through picturesque countryside. A sense of peace fell over the group as they travelled in silence, simply enjoying their surroundings and company. Rin sighed happily as a sense of peace she hadn't felt in a long time washed over her. Sesshoumaru heard her quiet sigh and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She had relaxed in her seat and was smiling to herself as she looked around. For a girl of eighteen, Sesshoumaru had to admit that she was quite a striking beauty. Her almond shaped eyes shone with emotion and her lips curved into an enticing smile that made him catch his breath. Almost as though she sensed his gaze, Rin looked at him and he felt the full force of her smile.

He wasn't sure who moved first, but when a discreet cough broke through the haze of desire that seemed to have fallen over him, Sesshoumaru realised that he had moved and that Rin was a lot closer than before. Her eyes were wide with surprise and a delicate blush coloured her cheeks but she didn't look away from him when he glanced at her. Over Rin's head, Sesshoumaru saw Bankotsu looking at him with a vague smile and a raised eyebrow. The dark haired man shook his head in amusement and looked away, leaving his friend to contemplate what had nearly happened. By the time Sesshoumaru finally came to terms with the fact that he had very nearly kissed the younger girl in the presence of everyone, the train was just pulling back into the station and he pulled himself from his thoughts long enough to follow his friends out of the little station and back towards the cars.

"I don't blame you for what you nearly did," Bankotsu said quietly as he fell into step beside his friend. He grinned at Sesshoumaru as they slowed their pace. "But try somewhere more private next time. Probably her first time, y'know?"

Rin was barely listening to her friends as they chatted cheerfully and Kagome profusely apologised for how uneventful the little train journey had been. She glanced discreetly over her shoulder and saw Bankotsu grinning at Sesshoumaru as they spoke. Her gaze landed on the tall, silent silver haired man and she had to fight the urge to blush bright red. It was painfully obvious what would've happened if Bankotsu had not intervened and a part of her resented him for doing so while another part was grateful that he did. Sesshoumaru was one of the most enigmatic men she had every met, but that didn't mean she was going to give him her first kiss. She certainly wouldn't object to giving it to him, just not yet.

The cars came into view and Bankotsu ruffled her hair as he opened the door for her, giving her a vague smile that made her blush. She settled as comfortably into her seat as possible and patiently watched as Sesshoumaru once again buckled her in. The seat belt seemed awfully complex in comparison to the others she had seen and used during her life, but she didn't mind being fussed over by someone other than Kazuki.

"So what's with that Kazuki guy?" Bankotsu asked conversationally as Sesshoumaru put the vehicle into motion. "Why's he so protective?"

Rin shrugged slightly. "I don't know the full story. He's very secretive. All I know is that my father found him when he was younger and took him in. There is an element of truth to Suzume's vagabond nickname for him. To cut a long story short, he gets to live in the house for free and gets free food as long as he looks after me while my parents are away."  
>"How old is he?" Sesshoumaru asked, taking an interest in the conversation.<p>

"Twenty-five or so he tells me. I doubt he'd be older than thirty even if he's not the age he tells me."

"He clearly cares for you a great deal," Bankotsu said thoughtfuly, glancing at Sesshoumaru from the corner of his eye.

"He does and I care for him a great deal too. Even though he's been asked to look after me, I think we passed the stage of simply being a little girl and her chaperone a long time ago. He's more like a brother to me than anything else. I can be a bit of a handful sometimes so it's understandable that he's so protective." Rin smiled slightly as she looked down at her hands briefly. "He often calls me an accident waiting to happen."

As he listened to her talk about the other man, Sesshoumaru wondered how Kazuki felt about her. He was inexplicably relieved to hear of their sibling-like relationship and decided not to dwell on that particular thought. Rin was a strange girl. She could be open but other times she'd be so closed to the outside world that she must've been a clam in a past life. As she was clearly feeling a bit more relaxed in their company, Sesshoumaru relished the chance to look at her as more than simply the quiet girl who got bullied.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Much later that afternoon, Rin sat at a table in a restaurant with her friends. It had been an exciting day for more than one reason. The joy of being out with her friends was one thing, but the memory of what had nearly happened with Sesshoumaru earlier that day sent a shiver of excitement down her spine. She was both scared and excited about what might happen next, but she tried not to too think too much about it lest she be disappointed. The very man who occupied her thoughts sat on the opposite side of the table and appeared to be engrossed in a conversation with Bankotsu. Sesshoumaru was not at all the boy the males in her school were, he was very much a man and even though he intimidated her a little bit, she couldn't help but send discreet glances his way when she thought no one was looking.

As normal, his long silver hair hung down over his shoulders and her fingers itched to run through it. His face held a blank expression that she expected had come with years of apathy and she briefly wondered if she would ever find out what could a man like him so apathetic. Despite that, Rin noticed that his eyes were the key to his thoughts. The gold eyes reflected emotions he thought were hidden and whether or not she was the only person to notice this, Rin didn't know but she wasn't going to share this discovery with him or anyone else. He was obviously quite physically fit as she could see the sleeves of his shirts straining slightly against his biceps. She was so lost in a day dream about finding out just how strong he was and how it would feel to have those powerful hands touching her that she wouldn't have known Kagome was talking to her had she not seen her friend look at her before she began talking.

"Did you enjoy today, Rin?" Kagome asked, looking a bit apprehensive about the reply.  
>Rin paused. Her mind was still clinging to the remnants of her day dream and she found herself unable to reply immediately. After a moment, she gave her friend a broad smile. "Yes. I did. It was more fun than I've had in a long time."<p>

"What were you thinking about so hard just then?" Sango asked with a grin.

"Nothing in particular," Rin replied, returning Sango's grin and for once not being timid.

While the group fell into conversation about how glad they were that Rin had enjoyed the day, Sesshoumaru and Bankotsu continued their own conversation quietly. After the incident on the train earlier that day, Sesshoumaru was all for staying far away from Rin until they had both forgotten what had happened, but his friend had different ideas.

"You can't just avoid her after that!" Bankotsu exclaimed in an outraged whisper as he glanced at Rin who was blushing prettily over something Miroku had said. "She'll know exactly what you're doing and can you imagine how that would make her feel? She's only just started to view us as friends!"  
>"How am I supposed to look her in the eye after that? It will be awkward," Sesshoumaru protested quietly as he too glanced at Rin.<p>

"The same way you did earlier?" Kouga muttered, looking at the two men in amusement from his seat beside Sesshoumaru.

"You don't know what you're talking about," the silver haired man stated sullenly.

"I'm not stupid, you know. Just because it looked like I had my back to you doesn't mean that I didn't have an eye on Rin. I saw what happened."  
>"How could you? You were facing straight ahead."<br>Kouga raised an eyebrow at Sesshoumaru. "Not very observant are you? If you had paid any attention to your surroundings at all, you'd have noticed that I was in fact sitting at an angle. I could see most of what was going on over my shoulder."  
>"He has a point, Sesh," Bankotsu agreed with a grin. "Not only that, but from where I was sitting I don't think she'll complain much if you two were to pick up where you left off."<br>"That just makes her sound desperate," Sesshoumaru muttered irritably.

"We all know that's definitely not what she is." 

Rin had spent the entire afternoon with her friends, flitting from one activity to another until she felt utterly exhausted. The sun was sinking low in the sky when the group finally decided to call it a day. Rin returned all the hugs she was given tentatively and gave her friends a tired smile as she watched them head towards their cars. Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha and Kagome had already left when she noticed that Bankotsu was making a beeline for Kouga's car. She frowned and looked questioningly at the two dark haired men who were grinning happily at each other as they walked.

"Is Bankotsu not coming with us?" Rin asked, looking up at Sesshoumaru who was leaning against his car just beside her with his arms crossed over his chest and watching with slightly narrowed eyes.  
>"Nah," Kouga interrupted, hearing her question and turning to grin at her. "Bankotsu's coming to help me with some work at my place. Sesh will take you home." <p>

Ayame waved at the pair out the window as the car sped off and Sesshoumaru felt the urge to groan in frustration. How was he supposed to handle the situation now and what was he supposed to say to her? He was very aware of Rin's presence beside him as he racked his brain for something to say and when he finally found something that seemed harmless enough, she turned and smiled at him. All thought fled his mind as he looked down at her and had he been a lesser man, he was sure he would be gaping at her.

"Would you like to go for a drink before you go home?" he asked, mentally slapping himself even as he said the words. That was not what he had intended to say at all!

Rin looked surprised but nodded slowly. "S-sure." 

The tall man's slightly odd behaviour set Rin on edge and she frowned slightly as she noted that the actions he had performed with such easy grace earlier on now seemed clumsy. If she didn't know any better, she'd have said he was nervous, but she did know better. Sesshoumaru was not the type to get nervous. He was the type who made other people nervous. As she continued to observe his actions from the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but find him endearing. It made her feel slightly better to know that the great Sesshoumaru got nervous just like she did, although she couldn't for the life of her understand why he would be nervous.

"Are you alright?" Rin asked a short while later as they sat at the back of a small restaurant not far from where they had parted company with their friends. "You seem unnerved."  
>"I am," Sesshoumaru admitted, startling her by being so honest but he didn't elaborate any further.<p>

Nodding, Rin dropped her gaze to her delicate tea cup and took a sip of the hot drink before turning her gaze back to Sesshoumaru. She blushed slightly when she found his gaze on her. His amber eyes followed her movements and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.

At that precise moment, various thoughts flew through Sesshoumaru's mind so fast that he barely had time to process one before the next came along. He looked intently at Rin, not caring that she had noticed his gaze and was looking straight back at him. For a few moments they simply stared at each other, not saying a word until Sesshoumaru saw her take another sip of her tea and his gaze was drawn down to her plump, moist lips. Whether or not Rin had seen this, he didn't know but he was past caring. A haze of desire similar to that which had fallen over him on the train overcame him and before his mind could register his actions, he was reaching across the table to take her small, delicate hand in his.

Rin's eyes widened at the sudden contact, but she didn't pull away and watched him silently. She shivered slightly when one of his long fingers traced one of the lines on her palm down to her wrist and Sesshoumaru looked up at her curiously as he trailed his fingers over her sensitive skin again. She blushed and looked down, watching his long fingers caress her hand gently. Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment and then withdrew his hand, realising once again that she was a novice when it came to matters of the heart.

"Shall we go?" he asked, glancing down at her now empty tea cup and pushing his own empty cup into the centre of the table.

Nodding, Rin followed Sesshoumaru out of the restaurant and back to the car. They walked in silence and she wondered what her companion was thinking. He had seemed very eager to be in physical contact with her earlier, but now he had distanced himself. When he had touched her hand it had sent shivers of excitement down her spine. No man aside from Kazuki and her father had ever touched her intentionally and even between those two men, Rin had more physical contact with Kazuki. The difference between how she felt when Kazuki touched her and when Sesshoumaru had was startling. It was thrilling knowing that a man wanted to be in physical contact with her and it was equally thrilling for her because she didn't know what would happen next and she was eager to find out although she didn't quite know how.

Her opportunity to think more on the situation and possibly act on it was brought to an end when Sesshoumaru pulled his car up into Rin's driveway and came to stop not far from the door. He turned to look at her and she gave him a weak smile. Her eyebrows rose in surprise when he frowned, but quickly glanced over her shoulder when she realised that he wasn't looking at her, but past her out the window towards the house. She was even more surprised to see Kazuki hurrying across to the car with a dishevelled appearance and an unnerved look on his face. Rin opened the door but didn't get a chance to get out as Kazuki came to a stop beside her and bent to whisper into her ear.

Sesshoumaru leaned on the steering wheel and watched with a bemused expression as the tall man whispered something into Rin's ear. She had been in the process of trying to get out of the car, but paused as she listened. Silver eyebrows rose in surprise when Rin paled considerably and turned to look at him wide, slightly fearful eyes. She gave him a smile, very weak even by her standards and stuttered out a rushed apology and thanked him for the lift home before hurrying out of the car and closing the door behind her. Waving at him briefly and trying once again to give him a convincing smile, Rin turned and hurried into the house. Kazuki paused and turned to look at Sesshoumaru as though he was going to say something, but he seemed to change his mind and simply nodded stiffly before hurrying after Rin.

For a moment, Sesshoumaru stared after the pair in amazement and jumped slightly when the front door shut with a loud slam. Sighing to himself, he put his vehicle into motion again and started back towards his home as he thought over the scene he had just witnessed. It was very odd and quite different from what he was expecting to happen. He wasn't sure quite what he had thought would happen when he finally reached Rin's home, but her dramatic exit had taken him by surprise and made him more than a little bit worried. As the sun set, he decided that perhaps tomorrow he could see what the others thought of the situation. Maybe he was worrying over nothing?

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**AN:** I had major plans for this chapter and they all fell a bit flat unfortunately. I wanted it to be original, but then I just drew a blank for ideas for the day off. I drew on childhood memories eventually otherwise this chapter would never have been written as I would most likely have given up in frustration. It took me ages to write this chapter so I'm sorry that it's a bit rubbish.

Anyhooo... on a more positive note, thank you to everyone for the reviews :)

xMxAx


	6. Chapter 6

**VI**

The next day was a grey day and dark clouds hung low in the sky, promising a storm later in the day. Sesshoumaru stumbled down the stairs into the home he shared with his brother and parents and groaned quietly when he found the breakfast table crowded with his friends and family. Sleep had not come to him until late the night before and he was weary as he walked into the kitchen, blinking against the bright sunlight that poured in through the large windows.

"You slept late, dear," Sesshoumaru's stepmother, Izayoi, commented with a smile as she pulled up a chair beside her and pushed a cup of coffee in his direction. "Did you not sleep well?"  
>"Not really," Sesshoumaru muttered, nodding gratefully as he accepted the coffee.<p>

"Too busy dreaming about the girl of your dreams, eh?" Kouga asked with a grin.

"Too busy trying to get to sleep," Sesshoumaru replied with a sigh.

The group left Sesshoumaru to his breakfast and he sat silently beside Izayoi, nodding his thanks when she passed him more coffee or more food. His mind, however, was not on his food or on his company. His thoughts were drifting away and focusing more on the one member of the group who was not present, not that he expected her to be. The incident from the evening before was still fresh in his mind and he was still no closer to understanding why she had reacted the way she did to whatever it was that Kazuki had said to her.

"So what's really the problem, Sesh?" Inuyasha asked after his parents had left the house after breakfast.

Sesshoumaru looked up and noticed that the rest of the group were leaving the breakfast table and heading into the living room where they were all taking seats on the plush furniture. He raised his eyebrows as he followed them and sat down heavily in an armchair.

"Why should anything be the matter?" he asked gruffly, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"You look like you didn't get a wink of sleep," Kagome replied, frowning at him as she settled down beside Inuyasha. "Did Rin get home alright yesterday, by the way?"  
>"She got home fine," Bankotsu said with a grin. "Sesh took her back last night."<br>Kagome raised her eyebrows. "I'm assuming you didn't try anything with her? That wouldn't really be very wise of you, Sesshoumaru."  
>"Don't say things like that," Inuyasha said in between laughs, coming to his brother's defence much to everyone's surprise. "He wouldn't do anything like that. Our father raised us better than that." <p>

Kagome and Inuyasha fell into an argument about what Kagome had meant with her comment while the rest of the group ignored them with practised ease. Sango slapped away one of Miroku's wandering hands and leaned forward in her seat as she looked at Sesshoumaru a bit more closely.

"What happened last night?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the elder brother.

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "It was strange. I don't know what happened."  
>"You best not have done anything to her!" Ayame exclaimed, surprising the group as she sat up straight and glared at Sesshoumaru who merely smirked.<p>

"I didn't do anything to her. I drove her home, that Kazuki guy said something to her and she was off into the house like a shot."  
>"She didn't say anything?" Kagome asked in confusion.<br>"Nothing other than 'thank you' and 'goodbye' as she got out."  
>"I wonder what happened."<p>

Sesshoumaru shrugged again. "Your guess is as good as mine."  
>"Well, we'll find out soon enough I suppose," Bankotsu muttered. "It's a good thing you didn't do anything to her though."<br>"You need to get to know her a bit more first," Inuyasha said with a wink. "She's still new to this whole friendship thing. Imagine what she'd be like in a relationship?"  
>Kagome smiled. "Give her time."<p>

As the group began to give him unwanted advice, Sesshoumaru palmed his face in exasperation. Apparently everyone knew about what had nearly happened the day before now. How was he ever going to face Rin now that everyone knew and would obviously be watching their every move?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rin took a deep breath as she stood in front of the dining room door. She smoothed down her demure blue dress and pushed the door open, fixing a smile to her face. A tall man with short dark hair sat at the table with an elegantly dressed woman with perfectly styled brown hair opposite him. Neither looked up as Rin stepped into the room and simply ignored her until she was seated. The woman raised her head and looked Rin over with a critical eye, sighed and returned her attention back to her food.

"Have you been working hard in our absence, Rin?" the man asked quietly, glancing up from his newspaper to give her a mildly curious look.

"Yes, papa," Rin said quietly, trying to remember all her etiquette lessons from Suzume as she stared down at all the cutlery in front of her.  
>"Not hard enough it seems," the woman said in a disapproving tone as she watched Rin. "Your manners are lacking."<br>"I'm sorry, mama," the teenager apologised hastily, looking down at her hands.

Her father waved a dismissive hand. "We did not come back to discuss her table manners, Rei. Who was it that you came home with yesterday, Rin?"  
>Rin stiffened slightly and sighed inwardly. "One of my friends, papa."<br>"Friends, Rin? I hope they're not distracting you from your work?"  
>"No, papa. They are university students and one of them is now my tutor for my History work."<br>Her mother snorted in amusement. "Until he decides that he'd rather study something else with you."  
>"I'm not sure I follow, mama," Rin replied slowly as she frowned in confusion.<br>"You really ought to be more aware of yourself, Rin," her mother scolded her. "This is the exact reason why we didn't want you to have any male friends."  
>"Why you didn't want her to have any male friends," her father corrected his wife.<p>

Rei shot her husband an angry look. "At least I have her best interests at heart, Shou. You seem content to let her run around with any man who looks her way. What would you do if one of those men did something to her?" 

Rin sighed to herself as she watched her father fold away his newspaper to better see his wife. It always happened this way. A simple conversation about how her school life was going always seemed to be taken out of context in one way or another and ended with her parents arguing.

"Why do you think I have Kazuki looking after her?" Shou retorted, gesturing to a surprised Kazuki who had just stepped into the room.  
>"He is a young man himself!" Rei all but shouted at her husband as she rose to her feet. "For all we know Rin's innocence could have been spoiled by him!"<br>"He would never..."

"Kazuki would never do anything to me, mother," Rin interrupted in a cold voice that surprised all three adults. "As papa says, Kazuki looks after me. It would be very poor of him to repay papa's kindness by doing such a thing."  
>Rei glared at her daughter for a moment. "Why must you always stand up for that vagabond, Rin? He is a no one and deserves none of your sympathy."<br>Rin rose to her feet and pushed her hair away from her now red face. "He's Aoi's friend! He would never do that!"

Without another word, Rin stalked out of the room and to her bedroom where she closed the door firmly behind her. She sat down on the bed with a sigh and buried her face in her hands. It was very rare that she lost her temper, but she would not stand by and let her mother insult her friend in such a way. A soft knock at the door caused her to look up and smile slightly as she saw Kazuki slip into the room with a slight frown. He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You shouldn't say things like that to your parents," he murmured. "You know they don't like it."  
>"It's the truth and if they don't like it, they shouldn't talk about you like that."<p>

"Even so, Aoi is a taboo subject of conversation in their presence, you know that."  
>"Well he shouldn't be. He has every right to be part of this family regardless of what choices he's made."<br>"Your parents don't agree, Rin. I doubt Aoi even wants to be part of the family anymore."  
>Rin paused and looked up at Kazuki with tears in her eyes. "You mean he'd leave me here alone?"<br>"You're here alone a lot of the time," Kazuki said with a sigh, wiping away her tears and embracing her small frame.

"But the thought that he might come by keeps me going."

"You might have to learn to live without that particular pillar of strength and find a new one."

"My friends maybe?"  
>Kazuki grimaced. "I wouldn't advise that. You saw how your mother reacted to you arriving home last night with that man."<p>

"Sesshoumaru's a good man though!"

"We don't know that for sure. Either way, Suzume and I will be your pillars of support."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The weekend with her parents seemed to drag on forever and by the time they left, Rin felt drained. She paused as she stepped out of the car and looked towards the school gates before waving briefly to Kazuki and walking away. None of the other students spared her a second glance and she hurried through the crowds, making a beeline for the library where she could sit quietly until lessons began. Sighing softly to herself, she pushed the door open and stepped into the quiet room. Glancing around, Rin was surprised to find that there was a small group of people sitting in the corner of the room. One of the people turned round when they heard the door open and grinned widely when they saw her.

"It's about time you arrived!" Sango exclaimed, waving Rin over to the table where everyone sat.

"What're you all doing here?" Rin asked, looking at everyone in surprise.

"Waiting for you!" Ayame said with a smile, shoving a sleeping Kouga aside as she reached over to give Rin a hug.

"We haven't heard from you since Saturday and we were a bit worried," Kagome said quietly, looking Rin over carefully. "Are you alright? You're not feeling ill are you?"

While Rin tried to convince everyone that she was fine, Sesshoumaru looked at her over the top of his book and sighed inwardly. It was only a matter of time before he found himself forced into being alone with her but he wondered if that was really a thing. As he looked at her more closely, he noted that her face was still pale and she looked tired. She caught his eye and blushed slightly, lowering her gaze to look at her hands. He raised an eyebrow at the reaction and smirked to himself. He remembered the way she blushed and how she had reacted when he had taken her hand while they were alone. It was a nice memory but he still worried over what had caused her sudden change in behaviour at the end of the day.

Rin eventually took leave of her friends and spent the day working hard on the work she had missed during her absence. By the end of the day, she felt exhausted and hoped that her parents would have left by the time she got home. She stepped out of the school building and sighed happily as she felt the sun's warmth. A quiet cough somewhere to her right had her jumping in surprise as she was snapped out of her reverie and she turned to find Sesshoumaru leaning against the side of the building just beside the door. The corner of his mouth was tilted upwards into something that looked like a smile for a moment before it was gone as he pushed himself upright and walked towards her.

"Sesshoumaru! What're you doing here?" Rin asked in surprise, her head tilting backwards slightly to look into his amber eyes when he stopped just in front of her. She gulped quietly, realising for the first time just how tall he was.

"I was waiting for you," he said with a casual shrug. "You are coming to the study session this afternoon, aren't you?"

Rin blinked in surprise as she remembered agreeing to attend them again when she returned to school. She nodded and glanced over her shoulder as she saw other students looking at them curiously as they headed towards the gates. "Yes. I need to speak to Kazuki first."

Sesshoumaru nodded and followed her as she led the way towards the gates and sure enough, Kazuki was leaning against the car in his usual casual style. The tall man noticed the pair and narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't comment as he flicked his hair over his shoulder and stood upright, towering over Rin as she stopped in front of him. Sesshoumaru didn't follow her over to the car and instead chose to lean against the wall near the gates, watching with interest as the pair interacted. Every so often he'd catch something Rin had said as she explained the situation to Kazuki and was surprised at the number of apologies she gave him. Kazuki grimaced when he heard the news but didn't argue with her. Instead he smiled at her and ruffled her hair before getting back into the car and driving off. Rin gave Sesshoumaru an unsure smile as she walked over to him.

"He's been a bit more protective lately," she murmured, adjusting her bag on her shoulder as she tried to avoid her companion's searching amber gaze.

"Even more so? What reason could he have now?" Sesshoumaru asked as he started walking away from the school.

"My parents arrived on Saturday and that always puts him on edge," Rin admitted before hastily changing the subject. "Where are we going?"  
>"To my house."<br>"Isn't this the way to Sango and Miroku's?"  
>"I live a street away from them. We all live within minutes of each other," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug.<br>"Is that how you all met? Because you live in the same neighbourhood?"  
>Sesshoumaru paused, thinking over that question before nodding. "Partially. I'd known there were other people more or less the same age as me, but we met at a function since our parents all work for the same company." <p>

Rin didn't reply and simply looked around the neighbourhood. She gasped in surprise as Sesshoumaru led her towards a grand looking old house that had been lovingly taken care of. It was two stories high and a lot older than the buildings around it, although Rin couldn't hazard a guess as to how old it was. They followed a pathway up to the front door and Rin could only shake her head in amazement at the beauty that surrounded her. It was obviously a family home as a lot of time and care had gone into maintaining it. Sesshoumaru pushed the front door open and gestured for her to follow him as he led her through a maze of corridors.

"Sesshoumaru? Is that you?" a feminine voice called from a room they passed and Rin turned to see a dark haired woman looking out of the kitchen. She smiled warmly at the pair of them and gestured for them to come into the kitchen. "The others aren't here yet."

"Wasting time on the way back no doubt," he muttered before gesturing to Rin. "Mother, this is Rin."  
>the older woman smiled happily. "I've heard so much about you from the girls. It's a pleasure to finally meet the face behind the name. I'm Izayoi." <p>

Rin blushed and stuttered out a response much to the amusement of the other woman. They talked quietly for a while before she ushered them out of the kitchen and Rin found herself once again following Sesshoumaru through the house. After a while, he came to a stop in front of a door and pushed it open to reveal a large study. Sesshoumaru sat down and pulled a chair up beside him, gesturing for Rin to sit down.

"How're the History classes going?" he asked, glancing at the History books that sat on Rin's lap.

She grimaced. "Better, but I'm still struggling." 

Sesshoumaru nodded and pulled her notebook towards him and started reading her notes. After a few moments of silence, Rin shifted in chair and turned to watch him as he read. Eventually, he put the book down and looked at her thoughtfully.

"You seem to make quite a lot of good notes, I don't understand why you're struggling with this topic," he admitted with a frown.  
>"Perhaps she's got a lot going on at the moment?" Izayoi's voice drifted across to the pair as she stepped into the room with drinks for them. She looked at Rin with a smile. "Am I right, dear?"<br>"Uh... I suppose so," Rin stammered, blushing as she realised that both Sesshoumaru and his step mother were looking at her intently.  
>"There we go then!" Izayoi said, passing Rin a drink. "Once you get over what's happening in your personal life, you'll probably be right on track in no time." <p>

Izayoi left the pair alone and Rin ws left feeling very self conscious as she was aware that Sesshoumaru was probably quite curious about what was going on in her personal life. She sighed inwardly and hoped that he wouldn't mention their brief conversation with Izayoi with anyone else.

"Don't worry, Rin. I'm not going to ask you what's going on in your personal life if you don't want to share it," Sesshoumaru said quietly, turning slightly to look out the window.

"It's not that I don't want to share it," Rin explained slowly. "I'm just very aware of how close the group is and I don't really think that I'm ready to share everything with everyone."  
>Sesshoumaru nodded, looking at her out of the corner of his. "As I said, if you aren't ready to share then it's not an issue, but I'll will listen if you want to talk."<p>

Rin paused and took a deep breath. "My parents arrived at some point during the day on Saturday which is why I had to leave so quickly. My father doesn't mind too much about what friends I have as long as my studies don't suffer but my mother doesn't agree. She'd far rather I spend all my time studying."  
>"That doesn't seem very fair."<br>"I know she just wants me to do well, but I don't think she understands that you can only study for so long. She wasn't very happy either to see that one of my friends was a man," she said with a vague smile.

"Why is that?" Sesshoumaru asked, frowning slightly in confusion.  
>"She thinks they all have ill intentions towards me, I suppose. She has major problems with the fact that Kazuki looks after me in their absence and although I can almost see why she dislikes him, I don't understand why she dislikes him so much."<br>"Ah, so the perfect bodyguard is not so perfect after all?"  
>Rin smiled. "Kazuki is far form perfect, but his flaws are few and far between in my opinion. He's been looking after me for nearly three years and he's more of a brother than anything else. I think I've said this before to someone?"<br>"I believe it was Bankotsu you were telling."  
>Nodding, Rin continued. "Kazuki was in a bad situation a few years back. He was homeless and struggling to find a job. My father found him, I don't know where or how, but for a reason beyond my comprehension he decided to help him. Kazuki works at the house alongside Suzume to look after me although I don't think it really takes two people to look after me."<br>Sesshoumaru smirked at her last comment. "You'd be surprised how many people it takes to look after some people. Inuyasha for example, Kagome has largely taken over the responsibility of making sure he doesn't do anything stupid, but it used to take the combined efforts of myself, my father and Izayoi."

"Does he do stupid things often then?" Rin asked, trying to remember a time she had witnessed such a thing.

"No very often anymore. As I say, Kagome has taken over that responsibility and has been far more successful than the three of us had ever been. Inuyasha is simply impulsive. If he sees something he doesn't like, he generally tries to get involved to sort it out. It's not a bad trait, but he's been in countless fights over the years because of it."

Rin smiled slightly. "I didn't think you spoke this much. It's certainly the most you've ever said to me."  
>"I find talking for the sake of talking a wasted effort," Sesshoumaru admitted with a shrug. "I see no reason to share my thoughts on insignificant matters with others. If they ask, obviously I'll give my opinions, but I don't volunteer them."<br>"I thought you were mute when I first met you," Rin remembered with a giggle.  
>"That's hardly surprising."<br>There was a moment of silence as Rin looked at the quiet man and gave him a brilliant smile. "Thank you for talking to me."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Thank you for trusting me enough to share what you've just told me."

For just a moment, Rin forgot her shyness and found herself thoroughly enjoying the moment. She blushed, but didn't lower her gaze and instead smiled cheerfully at Sesshoumaru. He looked back at her and gave her a very vague smile for just a moment before returning to his usual stoic self. Acting on impulse, Sesshoumaru reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently as he looked at her intently. Rin's smile grew as she turned her hand in his grasp and returned the squeeze tentatively. Amber eyes widened a fraction. Maybe there was hope for something developing between them after all even if it was just friendship.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**AN:** I've put two chapters up to make up for the fact that I didn't put one up earlier in the week. I'm aware that there some things I didn't explain in this chapter, but that was intentional. You'll find out more in the next chapter or so :)

xMxAx


	7. Chapter 7

**VII**

Weeks passed since his conversation with Rin while they were alone in the study and although Sesshoumaru had yet to spend anymore time with her alone, he observed her during the study sessions after school and during the time the group spent together on campus. Gradually Rin had come out of her shell and was becoming more and more part of the group. She was still slightly reserved, but she was by far more relaxed in their company. However, despite how much more at ease she was, Sesshoumaru still noticed that everything she had told him when they were alone had not been told to anyone else.

It had been a long time since he'd taken the time to notice anyone of the opposite gender and since the only females he ever spent time with up until now were already preoccupied with the men in their lives, Sesshoumaru rarely gave any woman more than a passing glance. That was until Rin had suddenly appeared in their lives. Rin was a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. She obviously had troubles that affected her self confidence, but refused to speak of them. She had a phobia that could probably be dealt with easily, but she hadn't confirmed that she did have a phobia. Sesshoumaru could only wonder why she had never told any of them about her personal life. She had told him some things about her parents, but even that didn't give him much of an insight into her personal life.

When you looked past how secretive and timid Rin was, it was easy to see that there was a happy, fun loving teenager hiding beneath the surface. Every so often she would fall into a fit of giggles and laugh until she had tears in her eyes before she seemed to remember herself and returned to her more serious self. Sometimes her timid smiles were replaced by broad smiles that made her seem as though she was glowing with happiness, but as quickly as they came, they were gone. Sesshoumaru had been lucky enough to witness both such examples and counted himself lucky. It had almost made him smile when she had sat beside him and giggled at the thought of Ayame and Kouga being a couple and the time when she had smiled happily at him in the study at his home had stolen his breath away.

Over the past weeks, Sesshoumaru had seen a remarkable change in Kazuki's attitude towards them. It was obvious that he was still displeased by the fact that they had befriended Rin, but he was less vocal about it. In fact, he seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that Rin was going to spend time with them whether he liked it or not. Rin had taken to walking home with the group at the end of the day since none of them saw any point in driving to the campus when they lived so close to it. Kazuki had been very unhappy when Rin first suggested this idea to him, but as was usually the case with the tall red headed male, he didn't want to upset Rin so he went along with her ideas on the condition that he would fetch her from school if ever her parents returned. Rin took advantage of her time without her guardian after school and often spent more time in the library after school just to get some extra work done. Her friends would sigh in exasperation, but one of them would usually stay behind with her to make sure she got home alright.

One particular day was different though. Rin had decided to stay behind to work in the library but her friends had offered their apologies as they all had other plans that afternoon and would not be able to stay with her. Rin had waved away their apologies and insisted they go and enjoy their afternoon. As she watched them leave the library, she noticed that there was one person missing from the group. Sesshoumaru was nowhere in sight. Shrugging the thought away, she turned to her books to get some work done.

It was a cold afternoon and the clouds promised rain, but Rin hoped to get home before it started. She had gotten so carried away with her work that she hadn't realised it was nearly sunset. Pulling her thin school jumper closer around her for warmth, she stepped out into the cold afternoon and was instantly hit by the cold wind. Sighing, she made her way down the long path that led to the gates, looking around occasionally to see if there was anyone else about. A flash of silver caught her eye and she spun on the spot as she looked in the direction she'd seen it. Her jaw dropped when she saw what it was.

Sesshoumaru was sitting comfortably on one of the benches that sat beside the path. His head was tilted back and he stared up into the cloudy sky, not taking any notice of his surroundings. Rin paused as she wondered if she should approach him or not. He looked so at ease that she was hesitant to ruin the moment for him. However the decision was made for her when Sesshoumaru raised his head and looked in her direction, a vague look of surprise crossing his face before he masked it. He nodded in her direction and moved over on the bench as an invitation for her to sit beside him. Hesitantly, Rin made her way towards him and sat down, shivering slightly as the wind whipped past.

"What're you doing here so late?" Sesshoumaru asked, lifting a hand to his mouth as he spoke.

"I was working in the library and lost track of time," she replied, staring at his hand before blurting out the obvious. "You smoke?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Much to my family's disgust."

The pair sat in comfortable silence for a while before Sesshoumaru turned to look at Rin when he heard her sigh of dismay. He raised an eyebrow in question before his silent question was answered by a fat raindrop exploding on the bench beside him. Turning amber eyes to his companion, Sesshoumaru saw Rin hastily trying to stuff her books into her bag before they were ruined by the rain.

"Let's go before it gets any heavier," Sesshoumaru said as he rose to his feet.

"We'll never make it home before it rains," Rin mumbled, shouldering her bag and hastily catching up with the tall man.

Sesshoumaru shrugged and carried on walking. "We'll get closer to some kind of shelter if we start walking."

Rin nodded and tried to pick up her pace to match his long strides but soon gave up. Sensing that she was struggling to keep up, Sesshoumaru slowed down and waited for her to catch up before heading out the gate and into the street. The rain was falling faster and getting steadily heavier as they walked and a glance over his shoulder told him that Rin probably would have preferred staying at the school instead of attempting to walk home. Her dark hair had been disarrayed by the rain and was falling out of the bun she usually had it tied up in. Shrugging off his jacket, he draped it over her head and smirked when she looked up in surprise.

"You'll get ill if you walk in the rain without a jacket," Rin exclaimed, attempting to pull the jacket off to hand back to him.

"So will you," he replied.

Rin sighed. "It's getting heavier, we need to find shelter."  
>"We'll go to my house, it's just around the corner. You can call your bodyguard from there and let him know you're alright before he makes himself ill with worry."<br>"Will your family mind me dropping by unannounced?"  
>Sesshoumaru shrugged again. "There's no one there to mind. Inuyasha is spending the weekend with Kagome and her family and my parents are out of town visiting friends."<p>

They fell silent again as they rounded the corner and Sesshoumaru's home came into view. Rin breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the house but her relief was instantly replaced by apprehension as she wondered what to expect once she was inside. Sesshoumaru seemed unconcerned as he led her into the house and directed her to the living room where she could use the phone to call home.

"Where are you, Rin?" Suzume asked, worry evident in her voice when she answered the phone. "It's raining so hard! Are you alright?"  
>"I'm fine, Suzume," she replied, breathing a silent sigh of relief that it was not Kazuki who answered the phone. "I'm at Sesshoumaru's. He said I can stay here and he'll bring me home once the weather improves."<br>"Shall I send Kazuki to fetch you?"  
>"No, it's dangerous to drive in this weather. I'll be home as soon as I can."<br>Suzume sighed softly and Rin swore the older woman was smiling when she spoke again. "Make sure you both dry off properly and keep warm. You'll both get ill if you're not careful."  
>"We'll be careful."<br>"I'll just tell Kazuki that you're still at school with your friends and I'll make sure that he stays here."  
>"Thank you, Suzume. I don't need him to come speeding out in the rain to find me. It's better if he stays at home. I'll be back when the rain stops." <p>

As Rin replaced the phone in its cradle, Sesshoumaru pushed the door open and stepped into the room. He handed her a cup of tea. After listening to her recount of her conversation with Suzume, he nodded and gestured for her to follow him as he headed up the stairs. Once again she followed him through a maze of corridors before stepping into what was obviously a bedroom although whose it was she couldn't tell. She hastily set her cup down on a nearby table and accepted the dark blue t-shirt that Sesshoumaru handed her.

"Thank you," she said uncertainly. "What am I supposed to do with it?"  
>"Didn't Suzume tell you to keep warm? You can hardly keep warm in a wet jumper and shirt," Sesshoumaru replied, gesturing to a door over his shoulder. "The bathroom's through there."<p>

While Rin changed in the bathroom, Sesshoumaru sighed and palmed his face. It had been an impulsive decision to come here when the rain had started falling heavily but now he was wondering if perhaps he should just take her home. However, a part of him was loudly declaring that she should just stay where she was. All of his inner arguments became silent when the sound of the bathroom door opening cause him to turn around. Rin stood in the doorway wearing the shirt which almost hid her knee-length skirt and she held her damp shirt and jumped in her hands, her expression showing her discomfort with the situation.

"Make yourself comfortable," Sesshoumaru suggested, taking the damp clothing from her and hanging it up in the bathroom to dry.

"This is your bedroom?" Rin asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking around with wide eyes.  
>"Indeed. I see little point in decorating it as Inuyasha did with his."<br>"Why?"  
>Sesshoumaru shrugged. "It's simply a room where I sleep. There is no need to decorate it when all I do here is sleep."<br>"You don't use your bedroom for anything else?" Rin asked with a frown. "What about time to relax? Time to just be alone? What do you do then?"  
>"You do not have siblings and what's more, you do not have a sibling like Inuyasha. If you did then you would realise how difficult it is to get time to yourself." <p>

There was a moment of silence as Rin looked down at her hands before raising her gaze to meet Sesshoumaru's. He sat on the opposite side of the bed, looking at her intently as he waited for a response of some kind. She sighed quietly.

"I do have a sibling," she admitted quietly. "But they don't live with me even though they're only a few years older than me."  
>Sesshoumaru was mildly surprised but didn't show it. "I see. You understand then that it's hard to get any time to yourself?"<br>"I suppose that's true. I'm usually alone though so some quiet time isn't hard to come by."  
>"It sounds like a pretty miserable existence you lead at hone," Sesshounaru noted with a slight frown.<br>Rin shrugged. "Not really. It sounds worse than it really is. Kazuki and Suzume keep me company."  
>"Then why are you always so quiet?"<br>"That's just the way I am," she replied with a vague smile. "Why are you always so quiet and apathetic?"  
>Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her, realising that his own attempt to discover more about her had been turned on him instead. "When you live with a brother who is essentially a living wrecking ball, you learn to be apathetic to most things. I'm not alone in thinking this way. My father has the same way of thinking although his apathy hasn't extended past dealings with Inuyasha."<br>"Why did you let it extend past that?" Rin asked, frowning as she tried to understand.  
>"It's easier to live that way," he replied, his tone suggesting it was the most obvious thing in the world.<p>

Rin sighed and rubbed her eyes, not understanding him any more than she had before the conversation began. "You are far too complex to understand," she murmured.

"Not really," Sesshoumaru said just as quietly, looking at her intently again. "It's just a different way of thinking and people don't try very hard to understand the way I think."  
>"But why are you so apathetic? I can understand why you'd be apathetic when it comes to dealing with Inuyasha, but why everything else?"<br>Sesshoumaru smirked at her. "Because there's less trouble to deal with. If I'm apathetic, I don't have to deal with all the silly emotions that would otherwise waste my time."  
>"Like what?"<br>"Worry or frustration, for example."  
>Rin laughed quietly and looked at him with a disbelieving look on her face. "Are you telling me that you never get frustrated and that you never worry?"<br>"Of course I do, but probably not for the same reasons you would."

"I don't understand."  
>"You are frustrated with you school work and you worry about keeping perfect grades to please your parents, am I right?"<br>"I suppose so," she admitted begrudgingly.

"If I were you, I wouldn't get frustrated with my work. Simply note that it's something you struggle with and move on to something you know you can do with ease. As for the perfect grades," he paused and shrugged. "I work to the best of my ability. It doesn't matter if I don't get a perfect grade as long as I know I worked hard. My parents are happy with that."

Rin's eyes widened and then she sighed, looking out the window at the rain that beat against the glass. "I wish it was that simple. It sounds like a nice way to live."

"Would your parents not listen if you suggested living in such a way?"  
>"Probably not," she replied with a rueful smile. "I want to go to university, but I don't think I'll be able to."<br>"Why not?"  
>"A conflict of interests. My father will encourage me to carry on my studies and my mother will try to marry me off to one of her friends' sons."<p>

"Arranged marriages are a bit old fashioned, aren't they?" Sesshoumaru asked with a frown.

"Perhaps, but my mother believes every man she doesn't know personally is out to do something bad to me."  
>Sesshoumaru smirked. "She wouldn't be impressed if she heard where you were now then."<br>"No, she wouldn't," Rin agreed, her smile growing at the idea. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her though."

While Sesshoumaru thought over everything Rin had told him, he looked at her carefully. She seemed wiser than her years and she seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that her future was going to be decided for her. Somehow that didn't sit well with him. Frowning again, he shifted his sitting position to look directly at her and found her watching him with confused eyes.

"What will you do?" Sesshoumaru asked, deciding it was probably not a good idea to beat about the bush.

"About what?"  
>"Your future. Will you decide what to do or will you let other people tell you what to do?"<p>

Rin blinked in surprise. "I'd like to decide it on my own."

"Perhaps you should start then."  
>"How?"<br>"You haven't got long before you finish high school. Why don't you look at the subjects offered by universities and see what appeals to you?"

"I know which one I want to go to," she murmured, looking down at her hands.

"Oh?"

"The same one you go to."

A silver eyebrow rose in surprise as she admitted that so quietly he almost hadn't heard her. A smile threatened to creep over his face and he struggled to smother it, instead choosing to reach out and ruffle her hair. Hesitantly she looked up with a light blush staining her cheeks.

"Then we need to make sure you pass all your exams with flying colours," he said quietly, a smirk tugging his lips as he still struggled with the smile.

Rin gasped in surprise and her eyes widened as she waved her hands in front of her. "I couldn't possibly get into that university, my grades simply aren't up to that level."  
>Sesshoumaru frowned. "You are very intelligent, Rin, and you work very hard at your studies. I see no reason why the girl who usually gets top marks for every exam should not be able to get into the university."<br>"How do you know I get top marks?"  
>"I have my sources," he replied with a quick grin that came and went so fast Rin wondered if it had been there at all. "Regardless, I think you'll have no trouble getting a place."<br>"But I'll need to pass all my subjects and you know as well as I do that I just don't do as well on some of them."  
>"Focus on them then. Bankotsu is a mine of information and he can tell you just about anything you need to know. Keep working with him and you'll be fine."<br>"I feel as though I'm distracting him from his own studies," Rin said quietly, looking at her hands again.  
>"I wouldn't worry too much," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug. "He's one of those irritating people who can get good results without even having to try very hard. I could help you on some of your subjects perhaps, but not all of them."<br>Rin stared at him. "I don't want to be a bother to any of you," she admitted softly. "I am grateful simply for your friendship. I don't want to be any trouble."  
>Sesshoumaru shook his head. "It's not trouble. If you feel as though you're a bother to the others, come and find me instead. We could probably struggle through some of your work together." <p>

Rin promised to take him up on the offer and couldn't help but smile to herself. She had been more than a little bit intimidated by him when she had first met him, but the more she got to know him, the more she realised that he was probably one of the best people to turn to if she had any problems. He always seemed to be the one who noticed if people at school gave her trouble although she didn't know how he seemed to know. When she didn't come to school for a while, it was Sesshoumaru who was the first to know.

It was early evening by the time the rain stopped and as she followed Sesshoumaru out to his car, Rin felt strangely reluctant to part company with him even it was only just for the evening. When they reached her home, she gave him a weak smile as she reached to open the door. They said their goodbyes and just before she slipped out of the car, Rin felt a large warm hand close around hers and squeeze it gently. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled happily at the quiet man who held her hand and returned the gesture before making her way towards the house.

Sesshoumaru watched as Rin headed down the driveway to the front door and only put the vehicle into motion again after Rin had been let into the house by a cheerful Suzume. The older woman looked his way and waved cheerfully before closing the door. As he headed home, Sesshoumaru wondered why he had taken an interest in Rin but quickly pushed the thought aside when he couldn't find a satisfactory answer to his question. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to develop between them, but the couple of times she had responded in kind to his impulsive actions, he had caught a glimpse of a very kind and caring girl beneath her timid exterior. Part of him wondered what it would be like to know that she cared for him and another part of him told him to keep his distance. She was clearly a novice in all things romantic. Still, despite the fact that he knew it would be better to keep his distance, he was curious about what would happen if he got to know her a bit better and he knew it was only a matter of time before he would discover which part of him would influence his actions the most. 


	8. Chapter 8

**VIII**

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon. The days had turned cold and rain fell more frequently than before, winter was fast approaching. In a warm living room, sheltered from the harsh elements outside, Sesshoumaru sat quietly beside one of the large radiators in the room. His friends sat around him, chatting happily amongst themselves and now used to how quiet he could be. The front door opened suddenly, letting a blast of cold air into the room and causing its occupants to protest loudly. Sesshoumaru glanced up and saw Kouga standing in the doorway with a slight frown on his face. The dark haired man walked into the room, closing the door behind him and sank down onto the sofa beside Ayame who promptly snuggled into his side.

"I have some news that might interest you," Kouga announced, not talking to anyone in particular as he spoke.  
>"Really?" Bankotsu asked, raising an eyebrow. "I highly doubt whatever it is warrants you bursting into the room and turning it into an ice box because you left the door open too long."<p>

Kouga waved a hand dismissively and leaned forward in his seat, ignoring Ayame's indignant squeal as she fell onto the sofa behind him. "I reckon it does."  
>"Well come on then!" Inuyasha demanded impatiently, looking up from a red faced Kagome who he had been paying a great deal of attention to. "Tell us what it is so we can go back to what we were doing!"<br>Sighing heavily and glaring at Inuyasha, Kouga reached for a drink and took a long swallow before speaking. "Someone we know has just recently been admitted to hospital."  
>"That could be a number of people, Kouga," Sesshoumaru muttered, also growing impatient.<p>

"Alright then. Aoi was admitted to hospital this morning with injuries sustained from fighting," Kouga deadpanned, looking around at his friends and waiting for a reaction.

There was silence throughout the room before Inuyasha sat forward abruptly, completely forgetting the attention he had been paying Kagome only moments before. Sango gasped in surprise and horror while Miroku simply palmed his face as though in exasperation.

"Is it serious?" Kagome asked with a worried frown.  
>Kouga shrugged. "No idea. He hasn't been released yet so I'd imagine they're keeping him for observation. Or it could be something really serious. I don't know the nature of the injuries."<br>"When did he go into hospital?" Inuyasha demanded.  
>"Mid morning today apparently."<p>

"Visiting hours are usually late afternoon, aren't they?" Sango said as she glanced at a clock nearby. "If we hurry we'll be able to visit him before the end of the day."  
>"That's assuming they'll let us," Kouga pointed out.<br>"Well it's worth a try," Kagome agreed as she got to her feet and pulled on her jacket.

The group separated and took two cars as they made their way towards the hospital at the centre of town. It was by no means the nicest looking hospital, but it served it's purpose even if it was a bit of an eyesore. Sesshoumaru sighed as he shut his car door and followed his friends into the building. He was friends with Aoi even though they probably weren't as good friends as they used to be, but he had no desire to visit anyone he knew in hospital. Inuyasha seemed to understand as he clapped his brother on the shoulder as he passed, his expression grim.

It took a while to convince the nurse at the reception that they really knew him, but after a while they were standing silently in the elevator as they waited for the doors to open. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose as he walked behind his friends down the corridor, the smell that usually came with hospitals was so strong it was offensive. While everyone else picked up their pace as their destination came into sight, Sesshoumaru looked around him. He was grateful that they hadn't been directed to the intensive care unit, but he had a good mind to tell Aoi exactly how unimpressed he was by this little stunt when he saw him. A door just ahead of them opened and a tall man in a dark leather jacket stepped out and turned to walk in the opposite direction down the corridor. Frowning slightly, Sesshoumaru watched him go before he was faced with the prospect of seeing his friend as the door was opened by Inuyasha.

"What the hell is this about, Aoi?" Inuyasha demanded, frowning as he stepped into the room and not wasting time with pleasantries. "You get sent to hospital and you don't even think to let us know?" 

A man with dark shoulder length hair sat in a bed near the windows and looked up in surprise when the door opened. He had a bruise on his face and a cast on one arm but didn't seem to be in very bad condition otherwise. Recognising the group, he grinned and beckoned them forward. Sesshoumaru hung back with a slight frown and instead chose to look around the room as opposed to looking at his friend. He realised that the room was not only occupied by Aoi. A small obviously feminine figure sat in the chair beside his bed, clasping his free hand tightly with her head bent over the bed, her face hidden by a dark curtain of hair.

"Sorry guys," Aoi said with an apologetic grin as he gestured for them all to sit. "It's not very serious so I thought I'd be out in a couple of hours. I ended up waiting in the waiting room downstairs for nearly four hours instead."  
>"And you still didn't let us know?" Bankotsu queried with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a nearby wall.<br>"Yeah well as I said, I thought I'd be out in a couple of hours so I didn't think I'd need to let anyone know," the dark haired man said with a shrug before nodding towards the girl beside his bed who had sat up during the exchange and began to turn around to see who had arrived. "Anyway, let me introduce you to my little sister..."  
>"Rin!" Kagome exclaimed as she recognised the girl and rushed forward to wrap her arms around her trembling shoulders.<p>

There was yet another moment of silence as everyone took a moment to take in what they had just discovered. Kagome looked over her shoulder at Inuyasha who grimaced at this new knowledge. After a moment or two the group sat down and were just about to speak again when the door opened and Kazuki stepped into the room.

"The bodyguard now too?" Kouga demanded, palming his face and sighing dramatically. He looked suspiciously at Kazuki who looked startled to see so many people in the room. "Should've know you'd be skulking around somewhere. You've got an unhealthy obsession with her, y'know?"

"You all know each other?" Aoi asked, confusion evident on his face as he looked from the group to his sister to Kazuki who was now frowning.

"An unfortunate friendship Rin has made," Kazuki muttered, setting down a cup of tea on the table beside Rin who was still sobbing into Kagome's shoulder.

"Friendship...?" Aoi asked, still completely baffled.  
>"Unfortunate?" Kouga demanded, squaring up to Kazuki and glaring at him. "We're the ones you stick up for her at school. I didn't see you jumping into that pool to rescue her when she got thrown in by that girl! It was Bankotsu who did that!"<br>"Funnily enough, I'm too old for school," Kazuki replied, returning the glare. "It would be quite odd for me to follow Rin around the school on the off-chance that some vindictive little girl decides to throw her in the swimming pool."

"Enough!" Aoi declared, sensing an argument and wanting to put a halt to it before it began. He turned to Kazuki and looked at him seriously. "What is going on?"  
>The red headed man sighed and sat down. "Your friends here have recently befriended Rin and seem to think that they're protecting her from unspeakable horrors at school."<br>"Don't be so dramatic," Kagome interrupted as she brushed Rin's hair back from her face. "There are no 'unspeakable horrors' at school. Just petty bullies and a girl with no friends to defend her. You didn't really think that we were just going to leave her to be bullied, did you?"  
>"Rin, you're being bullied at school?" Aoi asked, looking at his sister with concern on his face. "Why didn't you tell me?"<br>"How would I do that?" Rin asked bitterly, accepting the tissue Kagome handed her with a small smile. "You don't seem to be aware of the fact that this is the first time I've seen you in over four months."  
>"Well tell Kazuki! That's why he's there."<br>"Kazuki can't do anything more than you or papa could. I can deal with it myself."  
>"Is that how you ended up being thrown in the swimming pool then?" Aoi asked, shaking his head sadly. "You clearly can't deal with it yourself if Bankotsu had to save you."<br>Rin glared at her brother with such ferocity that everyone was startled. "That statement raises a question of its own. What is your connection with these people?" she asked acidly, waving her hand at the people behind her.  
>"They're my friends too," Aoi said simply.<p>

"You know them too?" Rin asked, looking at Kazuki with a frown.

"Of course I do. Why did you think I didn't encourage your friendship?"  
>Rin sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe this. You all knew each other and I'm the only one who didn't know about it?"<p>

"Well, we didn't really know who Kazuki was," Kouga admitted, rubbing his chin thoguhtfully. "We thought he looked familiar, but I guess we knew him from when he used to go about with Aoi. Knew him by sight but not by name, if you know what I mean."

"It has been a long time since we've seen Aoi too," Ayame added, looking worriedly at Rin.

"So what's the connection between you all?" Rin asked in a tone that suggested there was little more that could be said that would surprise her.

Rin rubbed her eyes as she waited for the response and sighed inwardly. When she had heard that her brother was in hospital, she had instantly thought that something very bad had happened and when she discovered him sitting up in bed and chatting cheerfully to the nurse, Rin had had to fight her desire to throttle him. Now her friends were standing in the same room and there seemed to be a link between them all that she wasn't aware of. It hurt her slightly as it made her realise that the people she had called friends were really people she barely knew and apparently she knew very little about her own brother. Suddenly she felt very alienated and the desire to run out of the room was overwhelming. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she took deep breaths and willed herself to stay in place until she had heard the story. 

Looking up when she didn't hear anyone volunteer to tell the story, Rin felt a little hurt. They were all connected but didn't want to tell her how. They didn't want her involved in their little group for whatever reason. It hurt her more than she would ever admit. She waited for several minutes, hoping that one of them would prove her wrong, prove that it wasn't that they were trying to exclude her but no one said anything. Eventually, holding back the tears that threatened, she rose to her feet and picked up her jacket. Everyone watched in surprise as she walked out of the room without a word or backward glance.

Aoi sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. "This was not how I pictured this going."  
>"What happens now?" Kagome asked, looking at the door Rin had just exited with a worried expression.<br>"Someone had best go after her," Aoi said and looked at Kazuki who shook his head.  
>"If I go it'll end badly," Kazuki said with a sigh.<p>

"What about Sesh?" Bankotsu suggested suddenly, turning to look at his friend who was standing just beside the door with an uncharacteristically disgruntled look on his face. 

No reply was given as Sesshoumaru pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against and walked out the door, leaving his friends staring after him and wondering if they had made the right choice. The corridor outside the room was empty but for one or two nurses and as he made his way past them, he paused to ask if they had seen Rin. Apparently she had taken the elevator down to the ground floor and someone in reception might know more. Rather than waiting for the elevator, Sesshoumaru chose the stairs and hoped that Rin wouldn't have gone too far by the time he reached the ground floor.

When he reached the reception area, he saw a petite dark haired figure walking across the car park towards the pavement that ran alongside the main road. Breaking into a run, he ran across to where the woman had stopped beside the traffic lights. She looked down in surprise when he came to a stop beside her and bent over, trying to catch his breath. After a moment, Sesshoumaru stood upright and looked at the petite girl beside him who looked at him suspiciously. Sighing, he put a hand on her shoulder and steered her down the road towards a small restaurant. She put up no fight and simply allowed herself to be led down the road.

"So where were you planning to go?" Sesshoumaru asked casually as he slipped into the seat beside her to prevent her from trying to do another runner.

Rin shrugged. "Nowhere in particular, just somewhere other than that room."

"Are you alright?" he asked after a moment, knowing that it was perhaps not the right question to ask but needing to know anyway.

"Not really. I just discovered that I don't really know my friends or my brother very well at all. How would you feel?" 

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her irritable tone of voice. It was a far cry from the timid girl he was used to and it intrigued him. Rin smiled politely and requested a drink the waitress and waited patiently until it was placed on the table before the smile dropped away and was replaced by a calm look with barely concealed hurt in her eyes.

"I know you're upset," he said quietly, placing his hand over hers. "But don't you think you should hear what your brother has to say?"

"Didn't seem like he was going to say anything to me," Rin said with a shrug, turning her hand over and letting their fingers intertwine.

"Maybe he just didn't know what to say?"  
>"If he didn't know what to say then, why should he know what to say if I listen to him now?"<br>"He's had time to think about it."  
>Rin sighed and sank down in her chair. "Why did you come after me?"<br>"Because I was worried," Sesshoumaru admitted, returning her gaze before she broke eye contact. "Will you come back and hear everyone out?"  
>"Not now. I don't think I want to face them just yet."<br>"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," she admitted with a vague frown. "I don't really want to think about it at the moment." 

Pushing away her empty glass, Rin put her arms on the table and rested her head against them while Sesshoumaru looked on, unsure what to do. After a while he noticed that her shoulders shook slightly and sighed to himself as he realised that she was probably still very upset about the whole situation. Comfort was not something he had ever offered another person and he found himself completely at a loss for what to do next. He wished Kagome was there to take control of the situation but quickly pushed aside the thought. Relying on Kagome for something like this was not a good idea. What if it happened again in the future and she wasn't there again? How would he deal with the situation then? Sesshoumaru rubbed his eyes briefly as he tried to gather his thoughts.

Rin raised her head slightly when she felt something land on it. Turning her head on her arms, she discovered that it was Sessahoumaru's hand resting on her head. She raised her eyebrows in silent question but didn't get an answer. He simply looked straight back at her. Sighing, she hid her face again and was surprised when she felt herself being moved moments later. She shifted sideways in her seat and found herself resting against what was obviously Sesshoumaru's side. Looking up, she turned to face him and was about to speak when he cut her off.

"I'm not the best person to turn to for comfort, Rin," he said quietly, looking down at her hands that rested on the table. "I don't know how to comfort you, but I'll stay with you until you want to go back."

As she took in what he had just told her, Rin smiled slightly. "Thank you."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Where have you been?" Kazuki demanded as soon as Rin stepped through the door. His long red hair was tousled and he looked both weary and worried.

"Gathering my thoughts," Rin replied shortly, brushing past him and gesturing for Sesshoumaru to come inside.

"What happened?" Kazuki hissed, blocking Sesshoumaru's path into the house and glaring at him. "If you hurt her, I will make you regret it."  
>"Why does everyone think everyone else is out to get me?" Rin demanded, spinning on her heel to face the two startled men in the doorway. "I'm old enough to look after myself."<p>

"We all know that, Rin," a quiet male voice said from the other side of the room. "We just worry about you." 

Rin turned towards the source of the voice and found Aoi sitting at the kitchen table with everyone else around him. She frowned at him but said nothing as she shrugged off her jacket it and hung it over the back of her chair before sitting down heavily.

"I know I should've been there for you, Rin," Aoi admitted, looking sheepishly down at his broken arm. "There's no excuse for it."

Sighing heavily, Rin waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn't make any difference one way or another. I spend so much time alone that it doesn't bother me anymore. I'm sure you'll be back to your old tricks with your friends as soon as you think you've smoothed this situation over."  
>"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Kouga asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.<p>

"No, she's right," Aoi deadpanned, looking across the table at h is sister who stared stonily back at him. "That's how it's always been, but not this time."  
>Rin raised an eyebrow and looked for a moment as though she would laugh. "Oh really? What do you intend to do differently this time?"<br>"I'm not leaving. I'm staying here with you, Suzume and Kazuki."

This time she did laugh, but it was not the cheerful contagious giggle they had all heard before. It was bitter and seemed forced. "How do you plan to do that? You know that if papa knew you were here he'd be back like a shot to throw you out again. Mama wouldn't be pleased to see you either."

"They'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm here to stay this time."

Suzume was overjoyed by the news and showered Aoi in hugs and made promises of how they would find a room for him. She started making decisions on how to decorate the house, proclaiming that the house didn't look like a home and that it was high time it did.

"You still haven't told me how you all know each other," Rin said quietly, looking at her brother intently.

Aoi looked uncomfortable for a moment before sighing. "You know that I got mixed up with a bad group of people when I was younger and that I got into a lot of trouble for it."  
>"Papa threw you out because of it," the younger sibling said, nodding her understanding.<p>

"Yeah, he did. Well, to cut a long story short, I met these guys while I was part of that gang."  
>"Everyone?"<br>"No. Bankotsu, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga."  
>"What about Kazuki?"<br>"Kazuki and I have been friends for many years."

Rin frowned. "But papa said he found Kazuki on the side of the road, beaten up and starving."  
>Aoi and Kazuki chuckled at her look of horror before Kazuki ruffled her hair and took up the tale. "He saw that because that's what he was supposed to see."<br>"It wasn't true?"  
>"Well, I was beaten up but I certainly wasn't starving. In case it's escaped your notice, I happen to be naturally quite skinny."<br>Rin shook her head. "I don't understand."  
>"Basically, after Aoi and I met everyone else, we discovered that our little gang leader was planning a raid. He wanted to raid some fancy store and steal what he could to sell. Everyone else managed to duck out of it and left the gang with no repercussions."<br>"How?"  
>"Pure dumb luck," Inuyasha said with a small smile. "We were new to the group and no one would think twice if the new guys dropped out of the raid. They'd think us cowards and because they thought that, they knew that we wouldn't go to the police."<br>"You didn't?" Rin asked, appalled by the idea that her friends had just let a robbery happen.

"Of course we did."  
>"Aoi and I had been in the gang much longer and we couldn't get out if it that easily. We just had to hope that the police would be at the store when we turned up and hope that they believed we were the ones who had passed on the information about the robbery."<br>"I sense a but," Suzume said, looking enthralled by the story.  
>"They weren't there," Inuyasha supplied. "They didn't believe us. Said that it was a group of teenagers up to no good and dismissed the idea."<p>

"So what happened?" Rin asked, now beginning to get interested in the story.

Aoi shifted slightly in his seat and looked as though he was reliving a painful memory. "We robbed the place. Stole as much as we could carry and headed back for the base. Problem was that a couple of the other guys didn't think they could wait until the leader distributed everything and hid some of it along the way back. When we got back, the leader immediately noticed that some things were missing and the guys who hid it blamed Kazuki and I since we were the newest members of the gang."  
>"We protested our innocence," Kazuki said, stepping in to take over. "But no one believed us. They beat us black and blue and threatened to go after our families if we didn't tell them where the items were. We told them where we saw the others hiding the items and they locked us in one of the rooms in the base while they went to recover it."<br>"And so comes the grand escape plan," Inuyasha said with a grin.  
>"Hardly grand," Aoi said with a vague smile. "We managed to break one of the windows and Kazuki got out. I couldn't get out so I told him to go to the house and sit outside it. Father isn't unkind and I knew he would take pity on a young man who'd been beaten up."<br>"Aoi asked me to keep an eye on Rin to make sure the gang leader didn't make good his threat to go after our families and that brings us to where we are now."  
>Rin tilted her head to one side and looked from Kazuki to her brother and back. "So where do the others fit in?"<br>"I managed to eventually get away from the gang," Aoi said after a pause. "They lost interest in me after a while and either didn't notice or didn't care when I left. The others saw me one day by chance and we've been friends since."  
>"Why didn't you approve of the friendship then?" Suzume asked, looking directly at Kazuki who shrugged.<br>"It wasn't anything personal, but you can't take chances with gangs. What's to say that these guys didn't have people following them around who could make the connection between Aoi and Rin? Not only that, it's hard to keep her safe if she's not nearby."

Rin sat in stunned silence as she took in everything she'd heard. She'd known her brother had had difficulties a year or so back, but she hadn't realised just how bad it was. Shaking her head slightly, she got to her feet and walked over to where Kazuki and her brother sat, looking at her apprehensively. They relaxed when the wrapped her arms around them both and hugged them tight. When she released them, she sat between them and counted herself lucky to know such people. She was blessed and she would never be able to thank them enough for what they had done for her.

While everyone else began to relax, Sesshoumaru watched Rin intently. She seemed to have become a different person now that she knew the truth. The change intrigued him. Almost as though she sensed his gaze, Rin turned and met his gaze. He briefly lost sight of her as everyone started to move towards the living room but as he turned to follow the crowd, he was surprised when he felt a small hand slip into his. Glancing down he saw Rin smiling up at him.

"Thank you for bringing me back to see them," she said quietly, squeezing his hand with her smaller one.

Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment and made a decision in his mind. He acknowledged her words with a nod and squeezed her hand gently in return. Rin looked as though she was going to say something but she paused as she watched him lift her hand to press a gentle kiss against her palm. She blushed but didn't pull away and smiled happily before joining everyone else in the living room. As he watched her go, Sesshoumaru caught Bankotsu's eye and raised his eyebrow when his friend grinned at him. Smiling ever so slightly, he shook his head in amusement and made his way into the living room. Things were progressing well with Rin, he wasn't going to push his luck by rushing her into anything. He was a patient man and he was curious to see how things would turn out with Rin.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**AN:** So there're the latest two chapters. I apologise about how uneventful the seventh chapter was, but I hope this one made up for it. It's a bit longer than I thought it would be, but that's not necessarily a bad thing :)  
>Thank you for the reviews! :D<p>

xMxAx


	9. Chapter 9

**IX**

As Rin settled into her new lifestyle with her brother, the others noticed a change in the usually timid girl. She smiled more and was quick to laugh at their silly antics whereas she could have merely smiled uncertainly before. They spent more time together now that Kazuki had put aside his worry for her safety. He was still very protective of her, much to Aoi's amusement, but he seemed content to leave her in their care when he wasn't around.

The end of the school year was fast approaching and with it came the end of Rin's time in high school. Much of her time was spent studying as she was still determined to get into the same university as everyone else and everyone was eager to help her as much as they could. She had taken Sesshoumaru up on his offer and often sought him out when she was struggling with something even though she knew it would be better and easier to find Bankotsu since he spent almost as much time studying in the library as she did. For a reason she couldn't explain, she was eager to spend more time with Sesshoumaru. Whether or not he felt the same, she didn't know but she didn't really mind if he didn't. She was the first to admit that she was inexperienced in matters of the heart, but she didn't feel the anxiety she expected to feel when it came to admitting to herself that she had taken a fancy to someone. Despite being inexperienced, Rin was not foolish and knew that not everyone would feel the same way about her as she did about them, but she did still harbour a hope that maybe Sesshoumaru felt the same.

Unfortunately for the group, all good things come to an end and their period of happiness came to an abrupt end. They were sitting in the kitchen at Rin's home and were all contributing various bits of information to her notes for her exams the following week when the door to the kitchen opened hastily and Kazuki stepped in. His hair was in disarray and he looked as though he was going to say something important, but before he could say anything, the kitchen door opened again and two people Rin hoped not to see again for a while stepped into the room.

Everyone stared in amazement at the tall man and the elegant woman beside him. The man returned their look of amazement for a moment before masking it with a look of resignation. The woman, however, frowned and gave an exclamation of surprise as she stepped further into the room. Behind her, her husband shook his head slightly and seemed to know what was about to happen.

"What is going on here?" the woman as in a shrill voice as she looked at everyone in the kitchen. She rounded on her husband and glared at him, pointing at the table of silent students who were watching the unfolding scene with amazement. "This is exactly why I told you she should come with us! But no! Shou knows best! Shou thinks she should stay here!"  
>"Mama, calm down. They're my friends," Rin said as she stood up and crossed the room.<p>

The man, Shou, gave her a fond look and ruffled her hair affectionately before sighing and rubbing his forehead. Glancing at Rin again, he gestured for her to sit down again as he turned to his wife and returning her glare.

"I do not believe it is appropriate to have this conversation in front of guests, Rei," he said quietly and started towards the door.

"I don't care," Rei snapped, crossing her arms and pouting like a child not getting its own way. "If we go somewhere else, you'll avoid the conversation altogether!"

"There is nothing to discuss. They are her friends and clearly they are helping her with her studies, so what else is there to worry about?"

"Most of them are men!"

"And?"

"I will not have it!" Rei spun around on the spot and glared accusingly at Kazuki who looked shocked. "I should never have trusted my daughter to you! You're a bad influence and now look at what's happened."

"Kazuki is not a bad influence," a quiet male voice said from the corner of the room. "He's probably been a better influence than you have, mother." 

Rin almost groaned as she watched her brother get to his feet and round the table to stand in front of his parents. His bruises had faded but the cast on his arm still remained and would do for a few more days. It was not the best look to approach her parents with, but it couldn't be helped. As she watched them, Rin was once again struck by how similar her father and brother were. Aoi had inherited his height and his hair colouring. They were so alike they could have passed for brothers rather than father and son.

Shou's shoulders dropped as he looked at his son and the look of resignation returned to his face. "What are you doing here, Aoi?"  
>"I'm here to stay," came the simple reply.<p>

"And how many times have we heard that before you go running back to you friends?" Rei asked, scowling at her son.

"Not this time." He glanced over his shoulder at Rin. "I know I should have been more attentive to my sister, but I confess that I'm surprised at how badly you treat her."  
>His father palmed his face and gave an audible sigh. "Our work abroad is unavoidable. Rin was given the option to come with us but she refused. I personally think it is for the best she stayed here."<br>"So that she can follow in her delinquent brother's footsteps?" Rei spat angrily. "I don't think so. I've had enough of this foolishness. Rin is coming back with us. I will not let her stay here with only two delinquents as guardians and an old woman who cooks the meals."

"I'm not going anywhere," Rin said flatly, surprising everyone. "I'm staying here. I'm finishing high school and then I'm going to university. I will stay with my brother and I don't care if you think him and Kazuki are delinquents. If they are then that's my problem since I live with them, it has nothing to do with you."

While Rei gaped at her daughter as though she had just sprouted another head, Shou beamed with pride. He walked towards her and gave her a brief hug. Turning to Aoi, he looked serious for a moment.

"Since Rin has already made up her mind, there is no room for our complaints," he paused as he gaze returned to Aoi. "I'd like to think that you've changed your ways, but I've been let down too many times in the past. I hope this time will be different."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Rei demanded of her husband. "This is madness. Pack your bags, Rin. You will be coming with us when we leave whether you want to or not."

"Not to be rude or anything," Miroku said casually as he draped an arm around Sango's shoulders. "But Rin is eighteen years old. She can make her own decisions now."

Everyone paused and stared at Miroku who suddenly looked sheepish when he realised that everyone's attention was focused on him. Sango pecked him on the cheek before turning back to the scene that was unfolding before them.

"He's right, Rin," Aoi said, turning to look at her. "If you don't want to go with mother and father, there's nothing stopping your from staying here. You just need to decide what you want to do."

Rin gaped at her brother. She had never been given this kind of choice before. When her father had asked if she wanted to go abroad with them, she had simply declined because it was less hassle and her parents constant arguments caused her endless anxiety. Now, it was different. She knew that if she went abroad there was the possibility of getting into prestigious universities, but she had friends to think about now. Glancing around her, she noticed that they were all watching her with interest but when her gaze landed on Sesshoumaru, her breath hitched in her throat. He was looking at her intently but there was a small amount of sadness in his eyes although she wasn't sure she understood why. Her decision was made for her the moment she looked into his eyes and she took a deep breath as she prepared to voice her thoughts. Sesshoumaru was as much as pillar of strength as her brother and Kazuki. He had seen her at her weakest after having to face her fear and he had seen her at her happiest when she spent the day with him and the others, but he never judged her. He had even seen her at her most vulnerable when learning about her brother's past and he'd been nothing but supportive. Rin knew that if she was to leave this kind of friendship behind, she wouldn't find another like it and it probably wouldn't be here waiting for her when he came back.

"I'm staying," she announced, looking at her mother with defiance in her eyes.

Rei narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "You're telling me that you choose your delinquent brother over us?"  
>"I'm happy here," Rin said with a vague smile. "I have friends and a life here. I'm not leaving it all behind."<br>"Foolish child. Do as you wish."

Everyone watched as Rei turned on her heel and walked out of the house, leaving her husband and daughter behind. Aoi returned to his seat and Kazuki slumped down in his seat beside him, stunned by everything that had happened. The rest of the group were expressing how glad they were that Rin had stayed, but she only half heard them. Her gaze was fixed on her father who stood looking out the door that her mother had just walked through.

"Well, that's the end of that," he murmured to himself. "It's been a long time coming."

"What's been a long time coming, papa?" Rin asked, walking towards him and taking his hand in both of hers.

Shou turned to smile at his daughter. "I believe that is the last you'll be seeing of your mother for a long time."

"I never understood why you married her," Suzume commented, sitting back in her seat and frowning at her employer.

"Why indeed," the older man replied with a vague smile.

Shaking her head, Suzume got to her feet and walked towards the door. "Well, I believe there are some things that need to be discussed, yes?"

Rin watched her father walk out of the room with Suzume beside him. There was a significant change in him even in the space of minutes. She wasn't sure what had changed, but something had definitely changed in him.

"You had us on tenterhooks, Rin!" Kagome squealed as she wrapped her arms around her younger friend.  
>"We thought you were seriously considering going with your mother," Bankotsu said, wrapping an arm around her waist in a one armed hug and lifted her off her feet briefly.<p>

"How could I leave?" Rin asked with a vague smile. "You've all done so much for me."

"I say we go out to celebrate!" Aoi declared getting to his feet and carefully pulling on his jacket. "Rin, go with Sesshoumaru. Bankotsu come with me and Kazuki."

After bidding farewell to Suzume and Shou, the group headed out into the evening. Rin paused on the doorstep and felt a slight apprehension. Sesshoumaru, who had been walking just ahead of her, paused and looked back at her with a silent question in his eyes.

"I've never been out at night before without my parents," she admitted, blushing when she saw his slightly amused look.

"Nothing will happen to you," Sesshoumaru promised, holding out his hand to her as she still hesitated on the doorstep.

Rin smiled slightly and took his hand, following him quietly to his car. Neither of them were aware of the amused being cast their way as they walked hand in hand towards the car.

"You knew something like that was going to happen, didn't you?" Bankotsu asked Aoi with a grin.  
>Aoi shrugged and grinned back. "I wasn't expecting that, but I did know something would happen."<p>

"Rin isn't a little girl anymore," Kazuki said quietly, his expression serious as he watched the pair outside. "It's hard to think of her as a woman who can look after herself."

"Don't worry too much about it," Kouga said as he passed by, clapping Kazuki on the shoulder. "Personally I thought she liked you. Looks like she goes for apathetic guys."  
>Kazuki glared at him. "I'm not apathetic."<br>"Certainly not," Bankotsu noted with a smile. "You're obviously a little bit irritated right now."

Oblivious to the conversation going on in the other car, Rin sat quietly beside Sesshoumaru as they headed out of the gates and towards the city. Her apprehension returned and she glanced at Sesshoumaru who looked so calm that she felt envious. Still, she was glad that her first night out on the town was with people who meant so much to her.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Rin woke up the next morning, she instantly decided that she preferred being asleep. Her head ached and she felt dizzy as she cracked her eyes open. Hastily shutting them again, she shifted slightly to get comfortable and go back to sleep. Sleep did not come, however. For a while she simply lay still, listening to the sounds around her and wondering why her bedroom sounded different from usual. The dull sound of snoring was easily recognisable, but what was not so easily recognisable was the soft sound coming from just behind her. It sounded like breathing, but she was sure that it couldn't be that. She was in her own bedroom and it was probably Aoi who was snoring somewhere down the corridor.

Sighing to herself, Rin opened her eyes again and slowly became adjusted to the bright sunlight. Once her eyes were accustomed to the light, she realised that she was definitely not in her own bedroom. In fact, she wasn't even in a bedroom. It was a living room that looked a lot like Sango and Miroku's apartment. Frowning slightly, Rin shifted again and looked around and had to smother her gasp of disbelief. It was definitely Sango and Miroku's apartment. The sofa across the room from her was occupied by Inuyasha, Kagome, Ayame and Kouga. They somehow all managed to fit on the small sofa and still look quite comfortable. There were several thick blankets spread out across the carpeted floor and multiple pillows were scattered about. Bankotsu, Aoi and Kazuki were curled up in blankets in various parts of the room, but in the middle of the floor lay Sango and Miroku. Rin had to smile as she looked at them. They rarely showed affection for each other in public, but in their sleep apparently it was a different matter. They lay apart but their hands were clasped between them.

Tearing her gaze away from the endearing sight, Rin realised that there was someone missing from the group. Sesshoumaru. Just as she was about to sit up to look for him, she felt something shift and she stiffened in surprise. Looking down, she noticed that she was covered in another of the thick blankets but as she pulled it back slightly, she was surprised to find a strong, obviously masculine, arm curled possessively around her waist. Eyes widening in shock, she glanced over her shoulder and realised that it was breathing she had heard earlier. It was Sesshoumaru's breathing. After making sure that no one else was awake, she cautiously rolled onto her back and looked at the sleeping male beside her.

Unbeknownst to Rin, Sesshoumaru was actually awake. He had been for quite some time, but he had no intention of informing Rin of this. When she rolled onto her back, he had unknowingly pulled her closer and was currently fighting the desire to nuzzle her neck. His eyes nearly snapped open in surprise when he felt her small hand sliding up his arm to rest on his shoulder. Rin shifted again and turned on her side leaving Sesshoumaru wishing that she had stayed the way she was, but after a moment, he realised that she had turned onto her other side and had now buried her face in his shirt front as she curled into his body as though seeking warmth. Instinctively he tightened his arm around her and felt instantly at peace when he heard her sigh quietly.

He wasn't sure how long he feigned sleep, but eventually he heard Rin's breathing even out as she fell back to sleep. Sighing to himself, he propped himself up on one elbow as he opened his eyes and blinked against the bright light. Glancing down at Rin, he saw that she had made herself comfortable and had snuggled into his chest, clutching his shirt. He quickly averted his gaze and looked around to make sure no one else was awake. Everyone was still fast asleep and Sesshoumaru felt himself relax slightly. After looking at Rin once more, he decided that it probably wouldn't be very good if she woke up to find him awake as well. She would probably be so embarrassed that she'd not speak to him again.

It took a while, but Sesshoumaru finally managed to extricate himself from her grasp without waking her up and went into the kitchen to make a strong cup of coffee. Bankotsu stumbled into the kitchen after a while and stared at him as though they'd never met before sitting down heavily on a chair and burying his face in his hands with a quiet groan.

"Never let me drink that much in one night again," the dark haired man groaned before looking up at Sesshoumaru with a curious expression. "What happened with Rin?"  
>Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? She's still sleeping of the sofa."<br>"No. She had far too much to drink last night and the last thing I remember was her falling asleep on you in the bar last night."  
>"Well she's still asleep."<br>Bankotsu sighed and looked slightly disappointed. "I guess I'm hoping for too much. Every time I think you're finally going to make a move on her, you back out."  
>"I'm not going to make a move on anyone when they're drunk."<br>"Are you ever going to make a move on her or is she just going to be someone you like but never had the courage to confess it to?"  
>"That sounds so feminine," Sesshoumaru muttered irritably.<p>

Bankotsu laughed. "Sorry. I guess it doesn't make you sound very masculine."

"Well he's not very masculine if he's never going to make a move on the girl he likes," a new voice said sleepily.

Bankotsu turned slowly in his seat and saw Rin standing in the doorway rubbing her eyes sleepily before she stumbled into the room and sat down heavily at the table. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sesshoumaru who looked surprised at her sudden appearance.

"It's not that simple," Sesshoumaru muttered, glaring at his half empty coffee cup.

"'Course it is," Rin murmured as she sat up and pulled her hair back out of her face. "You'll be plagued by 'what ifs' for a long time if you don't at least find out where you stand. The worst that could happen is that she would tell you to take road and leave her alone. Even if that does, at least you can move on and find someone else."

Bankotsu smothered a laugh at the irony of the sitatuon. "She's right Sesh. Just tell the girl already. Who is she anyway?" 

Sesshoumaru looked at his friend with narrowed eyes as he realised the turn the conversation had taken. He was no stranger to his friend's mischievous ways and normally didn't mind them, but this early in the morning when he'd been out drinking the night before was not a time he had patience to deal with Bankotsu's silly tactics. He knew that his friend was just trying to help him, but coming straight out and telling Rin of his conflicting feelings in front of his friend when they had all just woken up seemed like a very bad idea to him. Rin was looking at him with a mildly curious gaze and he knew that he needed to buy himself some time. Now was not the time or the place.

He tried frantically to think up a way to get away from the topic but he either had to make something up or tell the truth. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead and resisted the urge to groan in frustration. Glancing up, he saw Bankotsu looking as though he'd very much like to go back to sleep and Rin was idly twirling a strand of her long dark hair around one of her fingers. Her gaze was fixed on him as though she was was waiting for a response, but upon closer inspection, one saw that she was barely managing to stay awake.

"Who she is isn't important," Sesshoumaru stated flatly, rising to his feet and moving back over to the counter to get some more coffee. "Coffee anyone?"  
>"I'll have some please," Rin mumbled from behind her hands as she rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake herself up.<p>

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow when he realised Bankotsu was drifting off to sleep. Reaching over, he prodded his friend in the shoulder with a spoon handle. "Go back to bed if you're tired." 

Bankotsu mumbled something incoherent as he got to his feet and stumbled back into the other room where he promptly fell asleep on the sofa Rin had vacated only moments before. Sesshoumaru shook his head in amusement as he placed a cup of coffee on the table in front of a dosing Rin.

"Why not go back to sleep if you're still tired?" he asked, eyeing her over to the top of his cup.

Rin shook her head as she sat up and took a sip of coffee. "I was cold."

As she spoke, Rin glanced over at Sesshoumaru. Since he had woken up before her, there was no doubting that he had noticed her sleeping position but she was grateful that he didn't mention it. She wasn't entirely sure how she would explain it and it was not a situation she was eager to find herself in before she had had enough time to properly prepare for it. However, she had decided that it would probably be best not to lie about why she had woken up. She had been cold. Even with the blanket covering her, Rin had found herself missing the warmth beside her.

"Sango would be disappointed to hear that her blankets are not warm enough," Sesshoumaru commented with traces of amusement in his voice.

"I'm sure her blankets are warm enough for some. She certainly seemed warm enough and I suppose that's really all that matters unless the rest of you tend to make a habit of sleeping in her living room," Rin replied with a smile as she placed her empty cup down on the table. She looked at it for a moment before raising her eyes her companion's and smiling mischievously as she asked hopefully, "Any chance of another coffee?"

"Make that three," Kagome said with a vague smile as she and Inuyasha slipped into the empty chairs at the table.

"Two coffees all to yourself?" Rin asked with a smile.

"As much as I could probably do with two coffees this morning, the other is for Inuyasha. Apparently he didn't sleep very well even though he kept me up for most of the night with his snoring," Kagome replied, frowning at her boyfriend.

"Well if you hadn't fallen asleep on top of me, I wouldn't have had to sleep on my back and therefore wouldn't have snored. So the fault really lies with you," Inuyasha said with a shrug and a smirk.

Kagome scowled at him before turning to give Rin a concerned smile. "Are you feeling alright this morning? I'm guessing you'd not had much access to alcohol before last night."  
>"I've got a bit headache, but I'm otherwise alright," Rin said with a smile.<p>

Sesshoumaru left the trio to talk amongst themselves and returned to the living room, fully intending to find some free space and go back to sleep. He sat down heavily on the floor beside the sofa he had occupied with Rin the night before and grabbed a blanket from nearby as he made himself comfortable. His eyes snapped open again when he felt a light punch in his shoulder.

"Chickened out of telling her, huh?" Bankotsu asked, rolling onto his stomach and looking down at Sesshoumaru through one eye.

"I'd prefer not to tell her in the presence of others."

"Will you ever tell her?"  
>"I will take the advice that both you and Rin gave me earlier, but I will do it in my own time. There is no sense in rushing."<br>Bankotsu sighed audibly. "I know what you don't want to rush, but she's a different girl now that she'd gaining more confidence and no longer has her mother breathing down her neck. If you're not careful, someone else will creep up and take her away before you get a chance to act. Wouldn't it be better to act sooner rather than later with that in mind?"

Not long after his speech, Bankotsu fell asleep again and Sesshoumaru was left to ponder his friend's words. Perhaps it was time to act. He had waited long enough. Rin saw him as a friend and that was enough at least to ensure that she would hear him out. It was time to start planning his next move.


	10. Chapter 10

**X**

Sesshoumaru carefully planned how he would approach Rin. He had managed to steer clear of her since the day they had woke up in Sango and Miroku's apartment which wasn't quite as difficult as he had thought it would be. Rin had been so preoccupied with her exams and worrying about the results that no matter how much he wanted to tell her his confusing thoughts and what he had finally decided, Sesshoumaru knew that he should wait until the stress of the exam period had ended.

None of the group had seen Rin for the weeks during her exams and she shut herself away from the world in her bedroom as she worried over the results. Everyone became more than a little worried about her behaviour, but none of them could convince her to do come out of the house. It was a struggle enough to get her to come downstairs to eat, so getting her to go outside was almost impossible. However, one day changed her and she soon returned to her old self.

It was a typical day for Rin. She wandered downstairs for breakfast and started slightly to find Her father and brother sitting at the breakfast table with Kazuki and Suzume. They all looked up when Rin walked in still dressed in her pyjamas and still half asleep. Frowning, she mumbled something intelligible as she stumbled over to the counter on the far side of the room to pour herself some coffee. Shou chuckled and got to his feet, walking over to his daughter and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Sit down, Rin," he said with a smile as he guided her over to sit in his vacated seat. "There's something you three need to be told."  
>"Three?" Aoi asked, running his hands through his hair as he leaned back in his seat and looked up at his father.<p>

"Yes, you three," Shou repeated with a smile, glancing at Suzume who smiled back as she got to her feet to get a fresh pot of tea for the group.

Rin sighed and looked at her father with sleepy eyes. "Can this not wait until I'm more awake?"

"No. You're awake enough to hear this."  
>"Get on with it then, old man," Aoi said, teasing his father good-naturedly.<p>

"It has been most unfortunate that I have been unable to spend as much time with my children as I should have liked," Shou said carefully, sitting beside Rin and looking between his children. "I'd far rather have stayed here, made sure that Aoi was safe from those thugs he spent his time with and looked after Rin. Unfortunately, your mother wouldn't have it. She wanted to make a fortune so that we could move here and send Rin to that fancy school."  
>"Is this going somewhere?" Rin asked, sipping her coffee as she looked at her father over her cup. "We all know why you went abroad with Mother and we all know why she wanted to go."<p>

"The point is that I had lost my son to some thugs and didn't know if I'd see him again. I didn't know if he'd be in one piece the next time I saw him or if I'd get the call I'd been dreading from Suzume. I had to leave my daughter in the care of my friend and my son's friend. It was torture."

Rin raised an eyebrow as she watched her father cross the room to pour himself a cup of coffee. She had never heard how her father had felt about leaving her behind, but now that she had the chance to hear the story, she suddenly didn't want to. There had always been a nagging thought in the back of her mind that wondered if she had done something wrong. Had she done something to her parents to make them leave her behind? She had had a choice. She could have gone with them, but somehow she knew that it would have been better to stay. Sighing, she sat back in her chair and waited for her father to continue.

Shou coughed uncomfortably and looked at his audience. "Well, putting the dramatic bits aside, what I was going to say was that I've had words with Suzume about how things have been going since I left."  
>"And?" Aoi asked.<p>

"I'm very pleased with how well Kazuki has looked after my little girl. So I did a bit of research."  
>"Into what?" Kazuki asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at the older man.<p>

"Into your family, my boy. I realise that you are an orphan. Your parents died when you were very young, am I right?"

Kazuki nodded stiffly, frowning. "What of it?"  
>"You have been such a good role model for my daughter in the absence of her brother. I know you're probably a little too old to bother with such things, but if you don't mind, I would like to adopt you as my son," Shou said before an uncertain look crossed his face and he looked down at his empty coffee cup.<p>

Aoi choked on his drink as he stared at his father in surprise while Rin could only look between the two men and wonder what would happen next. Glancing at Kazuki, she noticed that he had become pale with what she assumed was shock. Being able to officially call him her brother would be nice. She had always thought of him as one and this would simply be the icing on the cake so to speak.

"Are you serious?" Kazuki asked at length.

"Of course. Do you think this is really a subject to joke about?" Shou replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Have you discussed this with Aoi and Rin? Don't you think they should have a say in this as well?"  
>"Do you think we'd object to this idea?" Aoi asked, frowning at his friend.<br>"I've thought of you as a brother from the very beginning," Rin said with a shrug. "This would simply make it true."

Kazuki smiled slightly as he turned back to Shou. "I'd be very happy to accept your offer."

Shou grinned and clapped him on the shoulder before saying something about making some calls to make it official. Once Shou and Suzume had left the room, Rin leapt out of her chair and hurried over to wrap her arms around Kazuki.

"Welcome to the family," Aoi said with a grin as he approached the pair. "'Bout time you joined the family. You're practically part of it anyway, but it's good to make it official."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

In the days following the arrival of Rin's new brother, she had decided that it was probably for the best if she didn't stay indoors until she got her results. On the day she finally decided to go out, a letter came telling her that she would be able to collect her results from the school the next day. Buzzing with excitement, she had hardly slept a wink that night and when the day dawned she began to feel anxiety set in again. She had rejected her brothers' offers to go to the school with her and even given her father's offer a flat refusal. She wanted to know her results first.

Feeling more than a little anxious about the news, Rin approached the main school building and began to wish she hadn't refused the offers she had received before leaving home. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and started to step forward when a hand landed on her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open wide and she turned in surprise to find Sesshoumaru standing behind her with a slightly amused look in his eyes.

"You might be nervous, but it would be wise to open your eyes before stepping forward," he said quietly, traces of amusement evident in his deep voice.

Rin blushed but giggled. "I'll remember that."

"Are you alone?"  
>"Yes. I wish I hadn't told my brothers and father that I didn't want them to come now," she said, glancing down at the ground as she thought it over.<p>

Sesshoumaru looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a gentle push towards the building. She looked up at him in surprise as he guided her through the crowds to the door. When they stepped inside, Rin felt her anxiety creeping back and stepped backwards as she looked around nervously. A single table stood in the middle of the usually crowded room and three teachers stood behind it with several boxes in front of them containing envelopes. Sensing her anxiety, Sesshoumaru put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward towards the table. The teachers looked up questioningly when the pair approached and instantly recognised both students even though one had not been at the high school for a couple of years.

"Miss Nakamura!" one of the teachers said happily. "I thought you would have been first in line to get your results."

"I-I think I'd rather not know," Rin admitted quietly.

"Nonsense!" the teacher said cheerfully and flipped through the envelopes in the boxes in front of him before pulling one out and handing it to her. "You were predicted very good grades, I see no reason why you should be anxious."

Rin nodded silently as she accepted the envelope with a shaking hand and let Sesshoumaru lead her back outside. There was hardly anyone around and they easily found a secluded space for Rin to open her envelope. Sesshoumaru watched silently as she struggled briefly with the seal on the envelope before pulling out the couple of sheets of paper inside it. She closed her eyes as she turned the paper over and her eyes grew wide as she took in the information.

"Good news?" Sesshoumaru asked, hiding his smile as she watched Rin stare in disbelief at the paper.

"I-I passed them all," Rin murmured, looking up from the paper with a stunned look. "All of them."  
>"Well done," he said, smiling briefly as he reached out to ruffle her hair. "You know what this means, don't you?"<br>"I can go to university," she replied, her tone implying that she hadn't quite come to terms with this information yet.

They stood in silence for a short while before Rin carefully put the paper back into the envelope and looked at Sesshoumaru with a happy smile. Before he could ask her anything further, she had reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she giggled happily. Surprised by this bold move made by the usually shy Rin, he was a bit slow to respond but as soon as his wits returned to him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Rin didn't seem to have noticed that her move was definitely out of the ordinary for her and was simply content to giggle quietly to herself as she felt waves of relief wash over her.

While Rin sighed in relief, Sesshoumaru was slightly stunned as he stood quietly. He hadn't been this close to her, not while they were both awake anyway. Her giggles caused her to shake slightly and when she eventually regained control of herself, she leaned back slightly and looked up at him with a smile. Her hands rested on his arms and she seemed unconcerned by their proximity for a moment before she seemed to realise just what she had done and she blushed prettily but she didn't step away.

"Sorry about that," she apologised quietly, lowering her gaze to the zipper on Sesshoumaru's jacket.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say in response to her apology. He shook his head slightly and decided that today was the day he would tell her everything, but not in front of the school where anyone could listen and watch. He dropped his hands from where they sat on her hips and gave her a very brief reassuring smile when she looked up questioningly. Instead of letting go of her completely, he took her hand in his and led her to the gates and down the street. A short while later the pair were seated in a quiet corner of the local park with warm drinks in their hands as they observed the people around them.

"Do you come here often?" Rin asked, looking at Sesshoumaru as she leaned back against the bench.

He shook his head. "Not anymore. I don't get any peace when I come here alone."  
>"So what are we doing here?"<br>"There is something I think we need to discuss," Sesshoumaru said slowly, looking out across the park before glancing at Rin briefly. "I was intending to wait, but now seems a good time."

"What do we need to discuss?" Rin asked, looking confused as she moved closer to him and looked at him curiously.

They sat in silence for a short while as Sesshoumaru tried to decide how to say what he was thinking. When he couldn't find a suitable way to voice his thoughts, he turned slightly and looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. She seemed to radiate innocence and as she looked up at him with a questioning look on her face, he found a way to voice his thoughts. Moving swiftly, Sesshoumaru turned fully in his seat to face her and paused very briefly as her curious expression turned to one of surprise. Without giving it any more thought, he slid an arm along the back of the bench and gently cupped her face with his other hand as he leaned towards her. Rin's eyes widened in surprise but she said nothing as he leaned towards her and gently took her lips with his own.

Rin stiffened at the sudden contact. She wasn't sure quite what to think and her thoughts rushed through her mind far too fast for her to focus on just one. Even though she wasn't sure just how she was supposed to react to Sesshoumaru's kiss, Rin felt herself relaxing and leaning towards him slightly as his fingers curled around the back of her neck. A shiver of excitement ran down her spine and she hesitantly lifted a hand before fully thinking through what she intended to do with it. After a moment, she let her hand drop as she leaned towards him and shyly responded to his kiss. Sesshoumaru smirked into the kiss and pulled back a moment later to look at the blushing teenager in front of him. Rin lowered her gaze to her hands on her lap, suddenly unsure of her relationship with the older man beside her but she got no chance to consider their relationship before she felt his hand tilting her chin upwards to meet her gaze with his own piercing amber eyes.

"I've been warned you may be a novice in this area," Sesshoumaru said slowly in a voice that was quieter than usual. "But I think you're wise enough to know what I'm trying to say even if I don't use words."

Rin blushed again and tried to look away without success. "The warnings were correct."  
>"I don't care if they're accurate or not," he said firmly, still holding her gaze.<p>

"Are you sure?" Rin asked doubtfully, giving him a vague and uncertain smile. "I am a total novice and something of a prude, you know."

Raising an eyebrow, Sesshoumaru leaned towards her and took her lips in a brief but intense kiss before pulling away from her slightly. "I'm sure we can cure you of both given time."

"Really?" she asked, blushing bright red at the obvious suggestion in his words.

"Of course. You simply have to be willing to learn."

As she looked at Sesshoumaru, Rin knew that there was no way she could deny this man his wants and desires. She couldn't do so as a friend and she doubted she could do so as a lover. He would always be able to have his way with her, it was just something that she instinctively knew. A smile curved her lips as she looked at him and found him watching her intently. She blew a lock of hair out of her face and pulled out of his arms as she rose to her feet. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her as she spun on the spot to give him a cheerful smile.

"As long as you don't mind a slow pace," she said quietly, leaning towards him until their noses almost touched. "I'm a very willing student."

Smirking at the appearance of her playful nature, Sesshoumaru rose to his feet and took her in his arms again. Sighing, Rin allowed herself to relax against him as she began to get used to the feeling of being held by a man. Leaning back slightly, she looked up at him and smiled happily before he took her lips again. Rin couldn't be happier as she took two steps into a new phase of her life. She knew she could count on everyone to help her settle into her university lifestyle, but she was counting solely on Sesshoumaru to help her adjust to being in a relationship. It was very exciting and she couldn't wait to get started.


	11. Chapter 11

**XI**

The days between her graduation from high school and her first day at the university flew by in blur and when Rin looked back on those days, she struggled to distinguish one day from another. Her friends and family had been overjoyed at the fact that she had passed all her exams and she was pretty sure that all over them knew about her new relationship with Sesshoumaru even though no one had said anything to her about it. She blushed every time she thought of the tall quiet man now. It had been one thing to think of him as a friend and quite another to think of him as something more than that. That change was taking some adjusting to and Rin was very glad that he was willing to let their relationship progress slowly.

On the day before the new term began at the university, Sesshoumaru found himself sitting in his living room staring out the window while Bankotsu lounged on the sofa and idly flicked through the pages of a book from the nearby bookcase. Eventually, the dark haired man looked up and cast an amused glance at his friend near the window before turning back to his book.

"Missing her already?" Bankotsu asked, grinning at the pages of his book. "How on earth did you manage a platonic relationship with her if you've only been away from her for a day and you're already pining for her?"  
>"That's not as funny as you think it is," Sesshoumaru muttered, casting a dark look at his friend before returning to his vigil beside the window.<p>

"How is it not funny? You spent so long bottling up how you felt about her! Why can't you just admit that you miss her? It's not a weakness or a threat to your masculinity."  
>Sesshoumaru frowned and turned in his seat to glare at his friend. "Who said anything about a weakness or a threat to my masculinity?"<br>Shrugging, Bankotsu laughed as he put aside his book and sat upright in his seat, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at his friend. "No one did, but I don't want you thinking along those lines. You know what they say, don't you?"  
>"No, do enlighten me. What do they say?" Sesshoumaru said sarcastically, ready to dismiss his friend's words as silly.<p>

"Behind every man is a great woman," the other man quoted with a grin.

Resisting the urge to palm his face, Sesshoumaru turned his back on his friend and stared out the window again. As much as he wanted to disagree with his friend, he knew that even if he wasn't pining after Rin, he did miss her presence nearby. Even when they weren't a couple, her constant presence was something he had taken for granted. She had a calming effect that he wondered if she knew about. He wasn't an impulsive man or one prone to violent outbursts, but even he got irritable from time to time, particularly when his brother was involved. Rin seemed to radiate an aura of tranquility that somehow affected those around her and when she wasn't around, Sesshoumaru definitely missed her. 

They had spent several days together without the company of their friends and after an initial awkwardness, Rin was slowly growing accustomed to the idea of being more than friends. She was still shy, but every so often her playful side would make a welcome appearance and surprise them both. Her playful nature lay dormant in the company of the rest of the group, but Sesshoumaru supposed she might feel more at ease when they were alone since he was the only one who had seen her less shy side. It would certainly take a little while, but Rin would eventually be more at ease with him and he was willing to wait however long it took.

"I'm glad you and Rin finally got together," Bankotsu said quietly after a while, smiling to himself as he picked up his book again. "I was worried for a while that you wouldn't ever say anything to her."  
>"I did wonder if I should considering her limited experience with men."<br>Bankotsu shrugged. "Well it boils down to this: would you rather she gain experience with you or someone else?"  
>"Me obviously."<br>"I have no doubt that you would have said something to her eventually considering what you've just said," the dark haired man said before pausing his reading for a moment to look at his friend seriously. "Do you think she'll be alright at the university though?"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't she?"  
>"I'm talking about that girl who terrified your girlfriend. The one who dunked her in the pool?"<p>

"I see no reason why she should continue her childish vendetta against Rin now that they are not longer academic rivals. In any case, it'll be much easier to keep an eye on her if she's at the university."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The day finally dawned and Rin stopped in front of the gates that led to the university. Although the university shared its grounds with the high school she had attended, there were three entrances. One solely for the university, one solely for the high school and the last which was situated between the two for those who saw no point in walking even further to use one of the other two gates. The gate Rin stood before was the one she had used every day for the past year or so since she had started at the high school, but it felt odd standing there and knowing that she would not be heading for her usual classrooms but for an entirely different set of classrooms. 

She bit her lip nervously as she looked at the gate. Anxiety set in as she began to worry if there would be yet more unpleasant people in her classes this year as there had been previously. Rin started to step away from the gates as she began to question if she was making the right choice but before she could consider that thought any further, she collided with something solid behind her which caused her to jump in surprise. Stepping forward hastily, she spun around ready to start apologising profusely when she found her friends standing behind her with smiles on t heir faces.

"Today's the day!" Inuyasha declared with a grin, ruffling Rin's hair as he passed. "You excited?"  
>"More nervous," Rin murmured in reply, trying to tidy her now messy hair.<p>

"You'll be fine," Kouga said as he draped an arm around Ayame's shoulders and started walking towards the university buildings. Glancing over his shoulder at the younger girl, he grinned. "Besides, Sesh will beat anyone black and blue if they so much as look at you the wrong way."

"You are fond of your exaggerations, aren't you?" Sesshoumaru muttered, raising an eyebrow at his friend who was no longer listening.

The rest of the group walked ahead of the pair and Rin found herself alone with Sesshoumaru. She's been alone with him before and she hadn't been nervous, but as she looked at him, she could feel butterflies doing somersaults in her stomach. He smiled at her briefly and she felt her anxiety diminish somewhat but before she could say anything to him, Bankotsu appeared at their side with a book in his hand. He glanced up from its pages briefly to look at his two friends and then nodded to their friends who had left them behind.

"We'll take you to the main administration building," Bankotsu said, his eyes scanning the page of his book intently. "From there we can find out where you're supposed to be and take you there so you don't get lost. Then we'll fetch you from your class for lunch."  
>Rin smiled as she listened to her friend give orders like he was a general commanding his troops. "Yes, sir!"<p>

Bankotsu lowered his book for a moment to look at her before he smiled and shook his head, raising his book again as he started to follow the others. Rin giggled quietly and followed while Sesshoumaru fell into step beside her. She smiled up at him as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder.  
>"I'm sorry for walking into you," she said quietly, blushing as she thought about having stepped back into him moments before.<br>Sesshoumaru shrugged. "I'd rather it was you and not someone else."

Rin nodded and was quiet for a moment before looking at him seriously. "You don't think there'll be anymore people like Aine, do you?"

"It's impossible to say, but I wouldn't worry too much about it even if there are. Although Kouga jokes that I would beat anyone black and blue, it'd more likely be him and Inuyasha beating people up as opposed to me."  
>"Why them?" Rin asked in confusion.<p>

"I'm not a violent man, that's not to say I can't be but I just choose not to be. The other two aren't so wise with their choices and are prone to impulsive behaviour that more often than not leads to fights. You're their friend and even though they might seem a bit immature, they do care about their friends so you wouldn't have to worry too much about how to deal with troublesome people."  
>"I'm glad you're not like that," she said quietly after she thought his words over. "I don't think that fits very well with your personality."<p>

Sesshoumaru didn't get a chance to reply as they had reached the main building and Bankotsu was already speaking to one of the women about Rin. Glancing down, he noticed that Rin looked nervous and he sighed to himself as he tried to convince himself that there would be no one who would give her trouble and that after the first day was done, she would be alright. He put a hand on the small of her back and guided her into the building where they were greeted with a smile.

"Miss Nakamura?" the woman behind the desk asked with a smile. "I have your papers ready for you."

Rin murmured a thank you and allowed Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru to lead her out of the building and towards the classroom on her papers. When they realised that they had quite a bit of time to spare, they slowed their pace and Bankotsu turned to look at Rin with a curious expression.

"I wouldn't have thought that you'd have chosen History since you claimed to struggle with it so much," he said thoughtfully.

Rin smiled. "History is one of my favourite subjects even if I do struggle with it. It's very interesting."

"We'll meet you here for lunch," Bankotsu said as they reached Rin's class a few minutes later.

"Thank you," she said with a grateful smile.

Bankotsu muttered something and wandered away, leaving the pair to say their goodbyes. Looking down at his petite girlfriend beside him, Sesshoumaru smiled slightly and reached out to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. She still tied it up, but it wasn't the severe bun it used to be and she only ever seem to leave her hair loose when she was at home or with him. Rin returned his smile as she looked back at him.

"You'll be fine," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "I'll be waiting here for you when your classes end."  
>Rin nodded and smiled again. "I'll look forward to lunch then." <p>

Sesshoumaru smirked and glanced down at his watch briefly before cupping her face with one hand. Her breath hitched in her throat at the action. She knew what was going to happen next and she felt a shiver of excitement race down her spine. She was still becoming accustomed to this level of intimacy with him, but she couldn't deny how much she enjoyed it. Moments later, she felt his lips against her own and couldn't help but smile slightly as she leaned towards him. He'd been very careful to move very slowly with her and she appreciated that. They hadn't progressed much further than a few kisses, but each one made her eager to find out what would happen next.

Reluctantly, Sesshoumaru pulled back and looked down into her blushing face with a smirk. He dropped his hand from her face and gave her free hand a brief squeeze before murmuring a goodbye and turning to leave. When Rin didn't let go of his hand, Sesshoumaru turned to look at her questioningly but she simply smiled back. Deciding to be impulsive for the first time in a long time, Rin stepped towards him and pressed her lips against his once more in a brief, chaste kiss before giving him a cheerful smile and turning away to walk into the classroom. Sesshoumaru stared after her in surprise. He knew that her playful nature could surprise them both sometimes, but this really took the biscuit. Smirking to himself, he put his hands in his pockets and walked down the corridor to where Bankotsu was waiting. Maybe that was Rin's way of hinting that she wanted to go one step further. Whatever it meant, she was clearly comfortable with the way things were so taking things a little further wouldn't be a bad thing. With that in mind, Sesshoumaru set about planning how to accomplish this.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The class was relatively empty and Rin spotted a seat near the back of the classroom where she would have a good view of the room and its occupants but still not be in the teacher's direct line of sight. Putting her bag on the table and sitting down, she looked around at the few people who wandered around the room. Moments later, a flash of white crossed her line of sight and she found herself looking back at a woman with bright red eyes and a cheerful smile. Sitting back in surprise, Rin looked at the woman more closely. She had dark hair that was tied back in a messy bun and secured with clips decorated with white feathers.

"Hi!" the woman said in a voice that was entirely too cheerful for that time of the morning. "I'm Kagura."  
>"I'm Rin," she said hesitantly.<p>

"Wanna sit together for this class?"

Rin's eyes widened at the question. "Sure."

Kagura sat herself down in the seat beside Rin and put her bag on the table in front of her. "So what were you doing before you decided to take this course?"

"I've only just finished high school," Rin admitted.

"Wow, not even going to have a gap year?"

"I don't see a reason why I should. All my friends are studying here so I'd be alone most of the time."

Red eyes turned to look at her curiously. "You've got friends here?"

Rin nodded. "They're second years."

Kagura was given no chance to reply as two more figures appeared in front of their table. One was a girl who was slightly shorter than Kagura with snow white hair and dark eyes and beside her stood a man with dark hair and cheerful smile. 

"Made a new friend, Kagura?" the woman asked in a quiet voice.

"This is Rin!" Kagura replied with a grin before gesturing to the two newcomers. "Thisis my sister Kanna and her boyfriend Kohaku."

"You're quite young to be attending university already," Kanna noted, looking closely at Rin.

"She's only just finished high school," Kagura explained and then smiled. "She's got friends in the second year which is why she didn't take a gap year."

The whole situation seemed unreal to Rin. She had spent her last couple of years at school alone and now she had made even more friends. The teacher stepped into the room a short while later and the first lesson began. Before she knew it, it was time for lunch and she packed away her note book quickly, eager to see Sesshoumaru and her friends again. Kagura and the others were already heading towards the door when Kagura stopped and glanced back at Rin.

"You got someone to have lunch with?" she called, causing Rin to look up.

"Yeah, her boyfriend," Bankotsu's voice supplied the answer.

Kagura jumped in surprise and spun on the spot to find the owner of the voice. Rin smiled as she approached the pair and the dark haired woman stared at her in surprise.

"He's your boyfriend?" she asked incredulously, gesturing to Bankotsu.

Rin shook her head and blushed. "No, he's my friend."

"Don't say things like that!" Kagura exclaimed, rounding on Bankotsu with a fierce expression. "It's misleading."

"I never said that I was her boyfriend, I just said that's who she's having lunch with."

Rin watched the pair argue as though they had known each other for a long time and eventually shook her head and was about to ask where Sesshoumaru was when she saw him coming down the corridor towards her. She smiled at him and slipped past the arguing pair to meet him halfway.

"What's going on?" he asked, nodding towards Kagura and Bankotsu who were still bickering.

"They're arguing about how Bankotsu phrased something," Rin replied with a smile.

Sighing softly, Sesshoumaru walked towards the pair and stopped just beside them. Neither of them seemed to notice his presence and he resisted the urge to smirk. Rin appeared at his side and he took her hand in his as he tried to think of a way to stop the pair from arguing but eventually gave up on being subtle.

"I hate to break this up, but do you think you could argue at the lunch table or in your spare time?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow when the pair turned and looked as though they had only just realised he had arrived.

Kagura narrowed her eyes at Bankotsu. "I'm not having lunch with him."

"I don't see what your problem with me is, you're the one being pedantic," Bankotsu muttered, frowning at her.

"We'll just leave you to decide what you're going to do for lunch then," Rin said with a smile and she tugged Sesshoumaru's hand.

"Is it wise to leave them alone?" Sesshoumaru wondered aloud as they walked down the corridor and left the pair to argue.

"They're both old enough to know how to look after themselves," Rin replied as she allowed Sesshoumaru to lead her down to the cafeteria. "Besides, nothing too dangerous can happen between them. We're in a university, violence is prohibited."

As they made their way towards the table where their other friends were sitting, Sesshoumaru was struck by just how mature Rin was. She clearly saw something between those two that had gone straight over his head, but he trusted her judgement and could only hope his friend was mature enough not to do anything stupid.


	12. Chapter 12

**XII**

"So how long have you two been together?" Kagura asked lazily as she sat beside Rin, waiting for the class to start.

"About a month," Rin said thoughtfully as she tried to calculate just how long they'd been together.  
>Kagura nodded slowly. "How can you be friends with that Bankotsu guy? He's so annoying!"<p>

"Is he?" Rin asked, smiling to herself as she found herself discussing a topic that Kagura seemed to be bringing up more and more often. "He's always been nice to me."

"Maybe he secretly has the hots for you?"

"Unlikely. If he did he'd have done something about it before Sesshoumaru and I got together."

"True. Why's he so mean to me then?" the other girl complained, resting her forehead on her desk.

Rin smiled again. "I don't think he's trying to be. He's lovely really, just give him a chance."

"Give him a chance?" Kagura echoed, sitting up and doing a wonderful impression of a fish as she gaped at Rin. "Why can't he give me a chance? It's not like I'm going to try and steal you away from the friends you already have which I reckon he thinks I'm trying to do."

"Who do you spend your lunch hour with?" Rin asked curiously, putting aside the notebook she'd been writing in.

"Kanna and Kohaku but it's so awkward."

"Why?"

"They're a couple and I'm a third wheel. It's not like they even notice whether I'm there or not anyway."

"Well if that's the case, why don't you come and have lunch with me and the rest of my friends?" Rin offered. "I'm sure they won't mind."

"But that Bankotsu will be there," Kagura said with an expression caught somewhere between sadness and joy.

Rin held back a laugh at the other girl's odd expression. "There'll be other people so you can talk to them. The group doesn't just consist of Sesshoumaru, Bankotsu and myself."

Kagura paused to consider the offer. "You're sure they won't mind?"

"Of course not."

"I'll come with you today then."

"Good!"

When the two girls left the class for lunch, Sesshoumaru and Bankotsu were standing outside like normal. They looked at the two girls curiously for a moment before Bankotsu opened his mouth to speak, but Rin silenced him with a look.

"Kagura's having lunch with us today," she explained as she smiled at her friend.

"What?" Bankotsu demanded as he glared at the red eyed woman beside his friend.

The two girls walked slightly ahead of the two men and as they walked, Sesshoumaru found his gaze drawn to Rin. He had spent the last month trying to keep his mind clear of improper thoughts involving his girlfriend, but when presented with the opportunity to admire her, he wouldn't turn it down. Despite her lack of height, her hourglass figure suited her and he couldn't help himself when he found his gaze drawn down her body to watch the sway of her hips as she walked.

"...listening to me?" Bankotsu slightly irritated voice broke through his thoughts.

Sesshoumaru sighed and brought his mind back to the what was going on around him. "Is it really that bad if Kagura has lunch with us? She's Rin friend just like you."

For a moment Bankotsu looked as though he couldn't come up with a reply. "She's just so irritating!"

"When are you going to admit that you find her attractive?" Sesshoumaru asked bluntly.

"I do not find her attractive."

"Really? Then why're you staring at her?"

Bankotsu sighed. "Alright. She's attractive, but..."

"You don't know her well enough."

"How did you know I was going to say that?"

"Because that's what you say every time you find a woman attractive. You make up excuses as to why you won't say anything to her."

"But..."

"Yes it's a good excuse, but you've used it too many times. Just get to know this girl," Sesshoumaru stated before casting a glance at his friend and deciding to tug at his heartstrings a bit. "I'm sure Rin will be very happy if you simply became friends with Kagura."

Bankotsu looked distressed as he sat down at the table and Rin wondered what had happened. Glancing at Sesshoumaru, she could see a vague look of satisfaction and only became more confused. Sensing her gaze, Sesshoumaru looked at her and smirked as he reached out to lace their fingers across the table, but didn't say anything to Rin about why their friend looked so distressed. Sighing to herself, she made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Rin and Kagura met Sesshoumaru and Bankotsu outside the classroom as usual at the end of the day and Bankotsu sent one look at Kagura and mumbled an excuse before leaving the trio alone. They watched him go and Kagura looked slightly hurt by his sudden departure.

"Where's he going?" she demanded, glaring at the retreating man's back as anger began to replace hurt.

"Library most likely," Sesshoumaru said with a shrug as he leaned back against the wall behind him.

"Right. See you two tomorrow then."

As the pair watched, Kagura stalked after Bankotsu. After a moment of silence, Sesshoumaru pushed himself upright and looked at Rin who looked slightly concerned.

"Shall we go?" he asked, holding out a hand for her bag.

"I hope they'll be alright," Rin murmured, batting his hand away as she shouldered her bag and laced their fingers together instead.

"They'll be fine."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next day was a Saturday and the group had arranged to meet up at a nearby park for the day. Rin arrived slightly later than everyone else and when she finally found her friends, she almost gasped in shock when she saw Kagura sitting quietly beside Bankotsu as they talked. After greeting all her friends, she sat down beside Sesshoumaru and smiled at him when he draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side as he leaned back against a nearby tree.

"What happened between them?" Rin asked, nodding in the direction of the pair who had been bickering until the day before.

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Must've solved their differences and discovered their mutual attraction."

"So that's it," Rin replied, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched the pair.

With the one problem that had been bothering her now out of the way, Rin enjoyed the rest of her day with her friends and was slightly disappointed when it came to an end. Not quite ready to part company just yet, Sesshoumaru and Rin ended up going to his home and spending the remainder of the afternoon watching films in the empty house. His parents had gone away for a holiday and Inuyasha was content to spend his days and nights with Kagome which left Sesshoumaru alone in the large house.

After the film ended, Rin stretched beside him and Sesshoumaru watched with interest as he remembered his decision to see how she would react to their next step. There was no sense in rushing her, but it would be interesting to see where her limits were. He decided to test the waters when she turned to look at him with her usual cheerful smile as she settled against his side and reted her head against his shoulder.

Rin looked up in surprise when she felt a large hand cup her cheek gently. Brown eyes met amber and she felt goosebumps rise on on her arms as she saw the dark look in his eyes. She didn't hesitate to respond when she felt his lips on hers, but her eyes widened as she felt him pull her onto his lap to hold her closer than he had ever done before. Stiffening slightly, Rin considered pulling away but all thought vanished from her mind when she felt his hands drop to her waist and pull her closer. Moments later she felt hos tongue seeking entry to her mouth and after a brief hesitation, she parted her lips and allowed him to ravish her lips in a manner so sensual and gentle that she couldn't help but lean into him and surrender herself to his kisses.

"If you want to stop, you must say so," Sesshoumaru murmured against her lips as they parted for breath.

Rin opened her eyes and looked at him seriously before smiling as she slipped her arms around his neck. "No. I don't want to stop just yet."

Smirking at her eagerness, Sesshoumaru was pleased to see that she was indeed an eager and willing student as she had said. Gesturing for her to get to her feet, he stood up beside her and took her hand in his as he leaned towards her.

"Perhaps we should find somewhere a little less public, hmm?" he murmured as he dropped a kiss against her neck.

Rin smiled. "I think so."

As she followed the tall man down the corridors to his bedroom, Rin thought over what had just happened and what could happen. In the space of a few minutes they had taken their relationship to a different level altogether and even though the thought of what could happen next made her nervous, she was excited all the same. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a door close and realised that they had reached their destination. Turning on the spot to look at Sesshoumaru who stood beside the door, she gave him a smile as he walked towards her.

"Remember what I said," he said quietly as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her against him. "If you want to stop, you must say so."

Rin nodded and smiled again, grateful that he was so understanding. All thought was banished from her mind as Sesshoumaru leaned down to ravish her lips again and she rose to her toes to meet him halfway without hesitation. He smirked against her lips and allowed his hands to wander over her as he held her close against him. When he heard her contented sigh, he felt a rush of pride at the thought that he had caused that sigh. Rin reached up to wrap her arms around his shoulders and gasped as she felt herself lifted off her feet slightly when Sesshoumaru stood upright. She was set back on her feet moments later and his lips left hers, causing her to moan quietly in protest. Smirking, he trailed kisses down her neck as his hands played with the hem of her shirt. He didn't want to get too carried away and risk making Rin uncomfortable, but he had no idea just how far she was prepared to go and he supposed that all he could do was to wait until she asked to stop.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rin pulled away reluctantly and smiled at Sesshoumaru when he looked at her curiously. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and let him pull her closer, ignoring the excitement building in her when she felt his hands on the bare flesh of her waist. When she noticed that he was still waiting for an explanation, Rin blushed slightly and he nodded slowly as though understanding what she was trying to communicate. Without letting go of her, he walked backwards and sat down on the egde of his bed and pulled her down next to him.

"I think it is wise to stop here," he said slowly, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"For today," Rin said with a smile as she leaned into his touch.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "You are an eager student, aren't you?"

Rin giggled. "I did warn you. I just thought it wise to stop now before we get too carried away."

"That's a bad thing, is it?"

"Of course not," she replied with a smile. "It's just that it's getting late and you know how particular Kazuki is about my being home before dark. I don't want to rush this."

Sesshoumaru smirked and leaned down to nuzzle her neck gently. "Then we need to make sure we have time next time."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sesshoumaru was feeling happy with himself when he slid into his seat beside Bankotsu in the library a few days later. His relationship with Rin was progressing nicely and he was more than happy with her responses to his advances. Her words the Saturday before still rung in his ears and he was already planning how he would buy them that time alone.

Bankotsu looked up when his friend sat down and raised an eyebrow at his satisfied look. "Something good happen?"

"You could say that," Sesshoumaru agreed, smirking as he pulled his books out and laid them out in front of him.

"You've been with Rin, haven't you?" Bankotsu asked with an amused look.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow as he looked at his friend. "You must've just been with Kagura then?"

"How did you arrive at that conclusion?"

"You wouldn't know when Rin has time between lessons otherwise."

A slight blush coloured Bankotsu's pale face as he averted his gaze and looked back down at his notes. After a moment he looked up and returned his friend's questioning look with a defiant gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, I was with Kagura."

Sesshoumaru nodded and turned back to his work. "Is it working out well?"

"Yes," the dark haired man replied. "It's worked out very well, actually."

"Good."

Bankotsu narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What were you and Rin doing? You usually come to the library during her free time."

"I wouldn't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if it was pretty similar to what you were doing with Kagura."

Conversation came to a halt when Inuyasha slid into the seat opposite them and looked at them both with a serious expression. The two men looked at him for a moment before simultaneously putting their pens down, knowing that if Inuyasha looked serious it was likely they wouldn't get any work done.

"What's the problem, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked with a sigh.

"You know that gang Aoi and Kazuki were part of? The one we got out of?" Inuyasha queried, looking from his brother to his friend and back again.

"What of it?" Bankotsu asked with a frown.

"I just found out that several members of that gang have been arrested."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "What for?"  
>"A range of things," Inuyasha said with a shrug. "Kidnapping, grievous bodily harm and theft are just some of the reasons."<p>

"What're they doing?" Bankotsu demanded.

Inuyasha smirked and leaned towards them. "Rumour has it that they never found out what happened to those things they stole and they're getting mighty cross about it."

"Shouldn't they have been 'mighty cross' all those years ago when it actually happened?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Details, details," the younger brother said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "They're getting reckless while they try to find out where the items are."

Bankotsu and Inuyasha continued to discuss the gang quietly but Sesshoumaru sat back in his chair and looked out of the window. Aoi and Kazuki's involvement in that event popped into his mind and was quickly followed by Aoi's reason for putting Rin in Kazuki's care. Amber eyes widened slightly as he thought about what Inuyasha had just told him and what he already knew. A feeling of dread began to build in him and he glanced at his watch. Rin's class would be over in a few minutes. Leaning forward hastily, he put his books back in his bag and bid his companions a hasty farewell before disappearing out the door and leaving them sitting in bewildered silence.

Shouldering his bag, Sesshoumaru ran through the corridors as he made a beeline for Rin's class. He dodged people coming out classes and swore under his breath when he reached the corridor leading to Rin's class and found it full of students. Pushing his way through the crowds, he reached the door to the room and looked inside. Rin was the only person in the room and he sighed in relief when she looked up and smiled at him. Walking over to her desk, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, ignoring her questions.

Rin was pleased but slightly confused as to why Sesshoumaru had run into her class at the end of the day and embraced her as though he had thought he was never going to see her again. Smiling to herself, she stepped closer to him as they walked through the corridors and out to the gates. Once they met up with their friends and began their walk home, Rin felt Sesshoumaru put an arm around her waist and smiled again. He wasn't usually so affectionate in public, but she decided that she wasn't going to complain.

"I'm walking going to walk you home," Sesshoumaru said quietly to Rin as they walked.

"Oh? Don't you normally walk me home?" Rin asked with a smile and turned down the street towards her home.

"I need to speak to Kazuki and Aoi."

Rin sighed and feigned a hurt look as she gazed up at him. "You're using me as a way to get to my brother?"

Sesshoumaru smirked at her joke when they stopped in front of the door and leaned down to kiss her gently before she opened the door. They found Aoi and Kazuki sitting in the living room and Rin excused herself, assuming that whatever Sesshoumaru wanted to talk to her brothers about was probably something of little interest to her.

"So what's this about?" Aoi asked after greeting his friend with a smile. "You're not coming to get our permisson to marry Rin, are you?"

Sesshoumaru smirked. "No. I would go to her father if I wanted that."

"What's the occasion then?" Kazuki asked. "You don't come to visit us often."

"I heard something worrying today," Sesshoumaru said and looked from one man to the other before his gaze settled on Aoi. "It was about your gang."

Aoi's eyebrows rose and he leaned forward. "Go on."

"According to Inuyasha, they're still looking for what they thought you two stole."

"Still?" Aoi demanded as he rose to his feet and started pacing.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I think it would be wise if one of you two were to accompany Rin when the rest of us are not able to."

"She should be safe during the day though, shouldn't she?" Kazuki asked. "She's in a university and all of you are there too."

"We are there, but we only see each other at lunch or during our free time. We all have our own lessons and the only one who has a lesson with Rin is Kagura."

Aoi nodded, remembering Rin talking about her new friend who went by that name. "She couldn't look after Rin during lessons?"

"Possibly, but she would be no match for anyone if there were numerous people all trying to get to Rin," Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully.

"I think our best plan of action is to play this by ear," Kazuki said as he got to his feet. "Keep an eye on Rin whenever you're able to but keep an ear open for any more information about the gang's movements. We don't even know if they'll still act on that old threat."

"Most importantly," Aoi said quietly as he closed the living room door. "Do not tell Rin about this. Let's not worry her over something we're uncertain of."

Nodding, Sesshoumaru bid the two men farewell and went in search of Rin. After a brief discussion with Suzume, he found himself wandering around the upper floor trying to find Rin's bedroom. When he eventually found it, he knocked and stepped inside only to find Rin sitting at a small desk in the corner of the room near the windows. She turned around in her seat when she heard the knock and was out of her seat in an instant when she saw him standing at the door. Sesshoumaru smirked as she raced across the room to him and slipped his arms around her waist when she stopped in front of him. He said his goodbye and leaned down to capture her lips with his in a brief but passionate kiss that made him wish he could just stay with her and pick up where they had left off the last weekend.

With great difficulty, he pulled away from her and promised to come and fetch her first thing in the morning for their classes. As he made his way home, he realised just how much he cared about Rin. For one moment, he had been terrified that someone had taken her from the university while he'd been sitting in the library. He didn't want to feel that kind of fear again and with that in mind, he decided that if it was true that the gang was still searching for its missing items and decided to act on their old threat, he would make it very difficult for them to get anywhere near Rin.


End file.
